Legends Never Die
by TheAnswers
Summary: As the dust begins to settle in Hyrule, Link struggles to adapt to his new identity. And he must do so quickly, for darkness threatens to engulf Hyrule once again. Post TP.
1. A Changing World

**Chapter 1 - A Changing World**

"Legends never die."

What an astute observation. Yes, it must be true. Though he didn't know it, Link's heroism would live on through the generations. Passed down from age to age, generation to generation, his memory would become as old as time itself. His fame would reach the corners of the kingdom, and farther still, all the way to the edges of the world.

And all because he took down the evil king.

Yes, Ganondorf was an evildoer of immense power and yes, only one person in Hyrule had to power to take him down, but was it really necessary to hold Link up so high above everyone else? Was it necessary to put him on the pedestal for all to see? Link didn't think so.

But they did put him on the pedestal. The Pedestal of Heroes. The podium of fame. He was put up there as an icon, a beacon of hope, an inspiration for all mankind and Link was there to stay. Once on the pedestal, there was no going back. Every aspect of his life would be thoroughly examined, and then mimicked, for a long time to come. He would be held in high regard for the rest of eternity; whether he liked it or not.

So, yes, Link's name would go into a place where there time is not. It would exist through time for all to see. For all to hear. For all to admire.

But, perhaps, there is something wrong with this observation.

Yes, Legends never die. But do they ever live?

That part had yet to be figured out. There were parades in the hero's honor all throughout Hyrule. There were days that the hero would wave to the crowd during one of Zelda's speeches. But what happened after all that, once everyone settled down once again?

The hero, too, would have to settle down. His name would be passed on through time, father to son and mother to daughter, but his body would stay right where it was before it all. But could he go back to living the way he used to? Could the others he used to live with live with him again?

No common person knows what goes through a Hero's head. They know nothing of the agonizing pressure that comes with picking between decisions that may very well put everyone at risk. They know nothing of the mental strength one must possess to even compete with somebody as powerful and intimidating as Ganondorf. They know nothing of the struggles he went through, physical as well as emotional, for the benefit of all of Hyrule. They knew nothing of the sacrifices he made, intentionally as well as unwillingly, for his fellow man and for his kingdom.

All that they knew was that he was a man of incredible power. And what can a man of incredible power do?

Possibly try to take over Hyrule again?

They did not know that Link was mentally strong. They did not know that Link would never succumb to the temptations of evil that came with power. All they knew was that, if he tried, he could kill practically everyone in Hyrule without so much as breaking a sweat.

Against his will, in the months after his defeat of Ganondorf, Link was shunned. He was pushed to the ends of society due to the fear of death and chaos.

The people of Hyrule had much to be thankful for because of Link, but they were also very fearful. Wars broke out all the time in Hyrule, mainly with the goblins or other minor threats, but people were killed all the time. These wars were sometimes as frequent as once every five years. So, naturally, the people became scared.

They became fearful of anything that might tip the balance in favor of war. And right now, that weight was Link. The always kind, generous, Hero Link. Saver of society as they knew it. Protector of all things righteous. He was the wind that blew away the dark storm. But now he was stirring the trees below as well.

He was given a spot at the bottom of society. Even lower than that of a beggar or a tramp. And he was the one that saved them!

And this was not only among the people he didn't know.

Princess Zelda hadn't invited him to the castle in quite some time. Renado hadn't returned his letter that Link had sent over a month ago. Ashei, Shad, and Auru had mysteriously vanished from Telma's bar after they had discovered that it had become one of Link's favorite hangouts. The doors to the Goron mines had been closed the last time he checked. The list went on and on.

Even Rusl, the closest thing to a father figure he ever had, looked at him in a different way. He would still speak to Link if spoken to, but never did he go out of his way to talk to Link. And when they did speak to each other, he held something in his eyes that he did not hold before; Fear.

There seemed to be only four spots in all of Hyrule that didn't make Link feel lonely anymore.

The first one was, naturally, his house in Ordon. There is no place like home to feel at home. Much of Ordon had stopped talking with him, but he still was able to find company there. Due in part to their innocence, and much to their parent's dismay, the Ordon kids still went to Link's house often. Link would, on many occasions, just waste the days away with Colin, Beth, Talo, and Malo, just like he used to before Ganondorf had ruined his life. Ilia, however, had taken a stance with her father and wouldn't speak to Link. That, or Bo had become really overprotective of her and made her stay away from Link. And that would be understandable, after what Ilia had gone through, but no less unbearable.

The second spot was the Zora's domain. Though many of the Zoras wouldn't so much as make eye contact with Link, he was able to find one person who would talk to him: Prince Ralis. Ralis had become much more open since everything had ended. He no longer grieved as much for his mother and he did not change at all in his thoughts about Link. He was perhaps the closest friend that he now had.

The third place was Telma's bar. Telma's gang was gone, but Telma stayed behind, and she was still the same. She had emerged as a very loyal friend, telling him on numerous occasions, "Don't worry, honey, they'll come around." She offered him all the support in the world. And she made a ton of money off him because he was now one of her only customers.

The fourth place, as weird as it may sound, was the roof of the Arbiter's Grounds. The ground around the empty mirror frame was home to the dried up remnants of many of Link's tears, the result of an emotion that had crushed him when Midna had left. The two had developed a fierce friendship by the end, and she would be the perfect friend that comfort him and help him through this very difficult time.

And that wasn't only from the amount of time saved traveling, even though that did really help. No, her personality is what he needed. Her "no shit" attitude and her sense of humor, even though insulting at times, always managed to put a smile on his face.

What he really needed was that one true friend. One that would stick by him and would always be there for him. He had Ralis and Telma, but they were caught up in other things as well, namely running a bar and running a kingdom. They couldn't always be there for him, not when he needed consolation in Ordon.

The land of Hyrule had changed. It is not the land that Link had fought so hard to protect. Not the same kingdom he had given so much for to keep standing.

He had not even been given the acquaintance of the postman in so long. The last time he had received mail was when Zelda had sent him a thoughtless and meaningless letter thanking him for attending a royal ball nearly three months ago.

And the worst part was that the kingdom hadn't learned its lesson.

They are setting themselves up for a disaster, just like last time. They were gradually letting their guards down. They had reverted to the same happy-go-lucky lifestyle they had before Zant and Ganondorf. They had relieved so many knights from all duties in the past couple of months. They hardly had enough to fill the streets of Castle Town anymore, let alone the rest of Hyrule.

And why would they do that? Because they felt they were on top of the world. _They_ had beaten Ganondorf after all, right?

Pfft. Yeah right. While they continued to cut back, the real savior sat back and waited for the inevitable to come, and even considered not coming to their aid when it did come.

Some much money went into lavish decorations and not enough went into fortifications. It was like they were egging a potential attacker on. Truly naïve and utterly dependent on Link's saving abilities.

Not like Link had done much with his money either, though. He had made a fortune selling bugs to Princess Agitha during the war. That, combined with all the money he made on his adventures, made him one of the richest men in all of Hyrule.

And what ever happened to that money? Locked in numerous chests in his basement. What more could he do with it? Money can't buy happiness. Money can't buy a friend.

But the thing is, Link didn't need any reinforcements. He had the perfect blade and a sturdy shield. His trusty bow, sometimes with a bomb attached, was always true to his aim. His unique clawshots gave him the ability to make a quick getaway if he was ever threatened or caught off guard(Although, unfortunately, it would only lock onto specific prepositioned targets scattered throughout Hyrule, which always made Link question whether he really owned the only pair of clawshots in the land). His Zora Armor gave him the ability to breath underwater and his iron boots let him walk in the water's depths.

The list goes on and on. He was well prepared for any attack against him. And since Ganondorf's fall, not a day has gone by without Link taking a big chunk out of his day to train. Every day he would work on his fundamentals, as well as touch up on the seven skills the old Hero of Time had taught him.

He worked himself so hard that on a few occasions he had passed out cold in the heat of battle. He would then wake up minutes later and get right back to it. Never give up; never back down from a challenge…

And why did he do this while everyone else rested? Why get ready to protect a kingdom that basically got rid of you? The answer is actually much simpler than one might think.

Because Link loved his kingdom.

It was his kingdom and it will be for the rest of time, whether he was accepted or not. And Link be damned if he stood back and let it be taken over. Hyrule was in a difficult time, yes. It wasn't making the right decisions, that much is true. But the fact remains that he would always be there for his kingdom, no matter what the circumstances were.

There was perhaps only one person in all of Hyrule that had felt the same loyalty, the same devotion to her kingdom as Link did. Her name was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.

How hard is it to rule a kingdom! Mentally, it was very strenuous and physically, it took a relatively large toll on the body, particularly in the form of lack of sleep. But Zelda never backed down. She stood there, by her kingdom, and made decisions that would help her kingdom. And though she had shunned the hero, she did it in the name of the common populace of her kingdom.

And even through the worst of times, Link held her in the utmost respect. No common man could ever feel the responsibility to one's kingdom as Zelda did to hers. Everything she did in life went toward the betterment of Hyrule. Once she took the crown as Queen, she could become the most recognized Hylian Queen in all of history.

That being said, Link hated her at the moment, for obvious reasons. Whenever this wore off, then they could become friends. Perhaps the best of friends. But at the moment, she refused to even reply to any of his letters.

And so, back in Ordon for the most part, Link was forced to try to lead a normal life again. One without weapons. One without risk. One without danger.

A life that now seemed boring.

The adventure had opened up Link's eyes. Never before had he seen Hyrule outside of Ordon's gates. There was so much to see. So much to do. So many people to meet. So many lives to save.

And here he was, forced to settle down again.

It might have been bearable if he had his friends and what he could call family by his side. But as it was, he only had the kids. And the kids could become quite annoying. Always hoping to see Link wield his shining sword, wanting to see him perform his moves as if he were some form of entertainment; no more, no less.

He shouldn't say that. There was one who had genuine interest in him. It brought a tear to his eye the day that Colin said he wanted to be just like him. And he meant it to. Not particularly fond of a blade, Colin had spent a lot of his time learning to ride Epona. With Link there mentoring him, he was becoming a formidable rider.

There was so much that he hadn't had the chance to tell Colin.

* * *

><p>Link woke up that morning as if it were a normal day. The sunlight was pouring in from his window and the songs of the morning birds rang through the air. It was times like this that Link almost thought that all was back to the way it used to be. It had become a habit of his to hope things of this nature on sunrises like these.<p>

But those hopes generally did not last long. They were just halfhearted attempts to justify what was going on in society and in Hyrule. They usually died down by the time the sun turned on him and became unbearably hot. One look at the now quiet, individualized village of Ordon usually brought him back down to reality.

Link began to go on his normal morning routine.

First, cook and eat breakfast. Easy - just stew up some of that stuff that Yeto had showed him how to make. Link had long since forgotten what he had called it, or if it even had a name, but it was delicious. Link looked back and couldn't help but grin; the memory of getting shoved by Yeto, who was desperately searching for ingredients, always brought a smile to his face. Getting the ingredients wouldn't usually have been so hard, with all the ingredients prospering in Ordon. Though, with the townsfolk ignoring him, Link always made sure to have plenty stocked up, so he did not have to endure the awkward situation of asking them for more.

Next, he would bring Epona to the spring and give her a nice bath. Not that she really needed a bath every single day. But it just gave him something to do, so that he wasn't pulling his hair out with boredom. This particular chore really made him appreciate the help that Ilia used to give him.

Then, he'd train on the dummies set up in front of his house. Durable little devils, they had withstood even the worst of Link's pent up rage. All of his shortcomings and miserable feelings went in hacking down that dummy, yet it stood to see another day, every day. 'More than Ganondorf could say,' Link would always think with a smirk when he walked away.

And his morning routine concluded with a refreshing dip in the springs to cleanse the blood, sweat and tears that had been spilt during the training session. Definitely the most relaxing part of the morning in Link's opinion, this cleansing also gave him a chance to escape the plaguing thoughts that invaded his skull for much of the day. The spring could be something of a refuge to Link, the refugee of public opinion.

This led up to lunch time, where the days would become unpredictable. Sometimes he'd sleep the rest of the day. Other times he'd go back and train again with renewed intensity and heartache. Or the kids of the village may drop on by. And at other times, he'd take a little trip with Epona to the forest, where the innocent residents didn't care about the power Link wielded.

And what an experience that would be! The little critters of the woods - squirrels, deer, all types of birds, and all the animals that you could imagine - wouldn't run away upon sight. Well, sometimes the little ones would, mistaking the lovable hero as a vicious predator; just like the rest of Hyrule.

But most didn't, and that made Link curious. He had noticed it on his adventure as well. Ever since he became the sacred beast for the first time, the animals didn't seem to fear him as much as they feared common people. He figured it was animal instincts; while his animal body had been left behind, he may have kept those instincts.

All the same, the animals didn't run and Link was grateful. Most would even creep closer and look at him expectantly, as if they could understand him and his situation. Some animals, particularly larger ones like deer, would sometimes stick out their necks for him to pet affectionately. Their form of consolation, Link had surmised.

But on this particular day, Link wouldn't be doing any of that in the afternoon. As soon as he finished his morning routine, he very important business to attend to.

Bucking up all the pride and dignity he could muster, and making sure his belongings were ready to go, Link made his move toward the gate to Ordon.

He was still a little winded from his workout, which was especially intense on this day. Link stopped once past the gates and took a look around at the now not-so-familiar town.

"It must be done! I'll be miserable the rest of my life if I don't…" Link mumbled quietly to himself before taking a step in the right direction.


	2. Moving On

**Chapter 2 - Moving On**

Ordon…

There was not another place in all of Hyrule that could make Link feel so welcome yet so hated at the very same time, all the time, than his home in Ordon.

Ordon hadn't changed much since the end of the war; the war never really managed to change Ordon to begin with, for that matter. Unlike the people of castle town, the Goron mines, and the Zoran kingdom, Ordon was one of the many rural areas throughout Hyrule that were not affected very much by Ganondorf. The fear was there, but the first-hand experiences were not.

Link passed through the gates to Ordon and was pleased to see that most of the townsfolk were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he could get in and get out without being seen. Too many people out and he would be more likely to be spotted. And if he was spotted, he presumed word would spread and everyone would slip inside their houses and lock the door.

It only took a few steps into Ordon when Link found himself face to face with one of the men he was looking for. Though by the look on this particular man's face, he did not seem to be thrilled to see Link.

"Bo." Link said simply, nodding.

Bo looked to be on some kind of errand. He was walking briskly on the only path Ordon had to offer when Link stopped him, and in his right hand was some parchment. Upon seeing Link, he immediately stopped in his tracks and put on a forced face of loathing.

"Link." Mayor Bo replied, putting his hand on his hips. His face simply shouted irritation as he waited impatiently for Link to speak.

"I need to tell you something."

Bo looked back at Link, eyes full of thought. For a moment he looked ready to turn his back on the Hero, but in the end, he simply said, "Make it quick."

Ah, so he was still afraid of Link. With Bo possessing the unnatural strength that he did, Link wasn't sure if he would be scared of him as well. They hadn't talked at all in about three months and Link still hadn't gotten a good picture of him up until this point. So he didn't flat out deny him at that moment for fear of his life, but he still maintained that obvious tone of not wanting to be there.

Not wanting to prolong Bo's suffering, Link made it short and sweet. "I'm leaving."

That apparently wasn't near the top of the list of things that Bo thought Link would say. Utterly perplexed, still vaguely afraid and perhaps even a little happy, Bo asked, "Why?"

"You all don't want me here and I don't want to be here. I don't think it can get any simpler than that." Link lied. In reality, this situation was anything but simple.

Becoming strictly authoritative and in no way personal, Bo responded, "No, I daresay it can't. That same decision probably could have been made months ago. But Link, as much as I don't want to say it, I feel obligated because of all that you have done for us to tell you that you are welcome back here anytime."

Link picked up the hint of displeasure in Bo's voice. "Thanks Bo, but no thanks. I will never come back here; unless, that is, you all decide that I am not such a bad guy after all. Like what you thought before, when there was no danger."

"Please don't lay any guilt trips on me, Link. You know as well as I that you can't be trusted." Bo responded, frowning.

Can't be trusted?

These words of fierce and harsh fear outlined the stark reality that now was Link's life. Trust was the basis for any friendship. It was the very quality that Hyrule had in Link that allowed him to emerge as the savior of Hyrule. It is the quality that strings groups of people together.

But with the fall of Ganondorf came the fall of the people's trust in Link. And with trust being so important in relationships, it was also the fall of Link's social life and his reputation as the Hero of Hyrule.

This was precisely why Link had to get out of here. It would be better to wander aimlessly than to stay here and continue to get ridiculed by everyone. They obviously weren't going to revert back to how it was before. For that to happen, Link would have to show them, once more, that he can be trusted; that he is the Hero of Hyrule and nothing less. As to how to go about doing that, Link did not have a clue. But it definitely wasn't going to happen here, in his home, in Ordon.

Link sighed and looked deeply into Bo's unmoving and indifferent glare. "I've come to accept my fate, Bo. You will never accept me again, I can see that. I've been a disillusioned fool not to realize it earlier."

"We'll miss you, Link." Bo replied, though his tone told Link that he didn't mean it.

"Just one last request, Bo?" Link asked.

Bo thought about it for a while. Again, he seemed to be considering whether or not to turn his back on the Hero. "I guess I owe you that much." He replied eventually.

"Please, let me…Bo, can I see Ilia? One last time?"

"Absolutely not!" Bo roared. A rosy shade of pink instantly covered his cheeks. "She will never be the same again, after what you've done to her! Oh, my poor, sweet, innocent Ilia…"

Not once had Link seen Ilia since the end of Ganondorf, not once. He had no idea what had become of his long-time childhood friend. He did now know how much more she could remember since her memory was restored. Bo had simply refused to tell Link anything about Ilia. And he simply had to talk to her one last time, for he may not get another chance for a long, long time.

"Bo, I never laid a hand on your daughter!" Link hollered back. As much as Link did not like violence and anger, he was grateful that he finally got a chance to release his on an emotional level. "I was the one who saved her! Her memory will come back with time, I promise."

"She lost her memory! She will never be the same again…" Bo sobbed. "But, I swear, if she did have her memory, we'd finally have enough evidence to lock you up for good, you crazed psychopath! Get out of my sight!"

Link sighed again. "Fine, fine. You win; I'll leave your daughter alone. Please, though, at least tell her that I said goodbye."

"I will do no such thing. I believe we are done here." He said professionally. "Goodbye, Link. I hope you find whatever it is you are looking for."

Link sighed and looked into the mayor's eyes one last time before turning his back and walking back down the path. He could still feel Bo's cold stare on his back as he walked back down the path. He knew that Bo would refuse, but if all worked out the way Link had planned, he would get to see Ilia again, albeit without her father's permission.

Down another path Link walked, knowing that Bo was watching him closely along the way. It didn't take long for Link to reach the house that he was looking for, that of Rusl and Uli.

Link knocked at the door and didn't have to wait long for Rusl to open the door, revealing himself, Uli, and a two-month old boy cradled in her mother's arms.

"Hello Rusl." Link said quickly before Rusl could speak. "I need to ask you for a favor."

Rusl furrowed his brow and glanced quickly at his wife before replying, "What kind of favor?"

"Bo is watching me." Link said quickly. "He won't stop until I am out of sight. He doesn't trust me, he thinks I plan to break into his house and talk to Ilia." He paused. "Well, that is exactly what I plan to do, actually."

Rusl glanced over Link's shoulder and saw that, sure enough, Bo was looking this way.

"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Rusl frowned. "'Cuz I'm not sticking my neck out for you if that's what you want."

Link sighed. "No it's nothing like that. If you will allow me to come inside your house for no more than a minute or so, Bo will move on and continue whatever it is that he is doing. Once that happens, I will leave your house, never to return."

"What do you mean, 'never to return'?"

"I'll explain inside, please just let me in your house." Link said impatiently. "He's going to get suspicious if I stand here for too long."

Rusl needed only another moment's thought before he said, "Alright, fine. Come in." He stepped back, as did Uli, to allow Link to walk in.

"Thank you." Link said quickly, then walked in and closed the door behind him.

As hard as he tried, Link couldn't remember the last time he was in this house. It had not changed a bit after all this time, but the sight was still unique in Link's eye.

"Is he still there?" Link asked quietly.

Rusl peeked out the window near the front door. A few seconds past before he said, "Yes, but he has turned away and is walking towards the ranch."

"Alright good, I'll have plenty of time if he is going there." Link said with a sigh of relief.

"So," Rusl said quietly. "You're leaving Ordon, is that what you plan to do?"

"Yes." Link replied. "And I don't intend on returning anytime soon."

Rusl studied Link for a moment. "But where will you go?"

Link paused. He hadn't really thought on that one too much, but in his view, anywhere was better than here. "Only the goddesses know what's in store for me." Link replied finally. "They created me, and now they will lead me to where I can be happy."

Rusl frowned. Link was never the most religious man in Hyrule, so such an answer certainly surprised him. "Wherever you go," He said apathetically. "Best of luck."

Link nodded and then glanced out the window. Bo was nowhere in sight, it was now or never. "Thanks for everything Rusl, I hope to see you again sometime."

Link then turned and opened the door and walked out the house. Even if Rusl responded, which he doubted, Link never heard it for he closed the door again quickly and traveled as fast as he could without making too much noise down the path to the mayor's house.

A few of the townsfolk were out and about by now. It was midafternoon, and there was much for them to do before the sun disappeared into darkness. Many of them saw Link and walked back into their houses, but perhaps that was for the best. Link didn't want all eyes on him while he broke into the mayor's house.

In better times, this trek was always a carefree one. He went to Bo's house all the time to play with Ilia back before Ganondorf, and the front door was usually unlocked even. But this was not the case anymore; Link knew this from previous experience. He had tried once before to get to Ilia, but Bo always locks the front door now.

But there was more than one way into the mayor's house.

Link made his way around back. He passed into the backyard, through the fenced-off field he had come to know very well. Childhood memories littered this area, after all the times he had spent with Ilia.

It did not take long for Link to find what he was looking for. There it was, resting on the backside of the mayor's house; an old wooden ladder. It seemed foolish to Link that Bo, who had already gone to such lengths to keep Link from his daughter, would turn a blind eye to something as simple as a rooftop break-in. Nevertheless, Link was still grateful, and quickly he climbed up the ladder.

Again, Link trekked into familiar territory as he clambered up onto the roof. He had been up here a few times before, and those times had always been without Bo's knowing as well.

"No..." Link whispered quietly to himself.

Now it made sense as to why the ladder had been un-guarded. Now it made sense why Ilia had not been out in months.

From his position at the top of the ladder, Link traveled to the side of the roof that faced Fado's ranch. There he expected to find the window to Ilia's room, but there was more than just that. Sturdy, iron bars secured the window in place and made it impossible for anyone to get in-or out.

Link covered the remaining space between himself and the window in a single stride. He flung himself at the bars and, twisting and jerking, tried to rip the wretched captors from their holsters on the house. But it was no good; Bo obviously put them in place without the intention of their removal.

"Ilia!" Link screamed. He soon gave up trying to remove the bars and instead started tapping noisily on the window, hoping beyond hope that the one inside could hear.

He would not be disappointed. Very soon, Ilia's pleading face showed up behind the bars. There was no doubt she could remember her old friend now; she was yelling something but Link didn't have the slightest idea as to what it was.

Link couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pity toward her as she tried desperately to convey something to him. Her hair was on edge and her clothes looked as though they had not been washed in weeks. She also seemed quite a bit thinner than he could ever remember. Link doubted that this because Bo didn't feed her. No, Bo still loved his daughter.

"LINK!" somebody roared from behind him.

Link turned around despite his strong urge to keep looking at Ilia. There stood Bo at the gates to Fado's ranch. His face's color had evolved into a strong cherry red and he glared at Link with a hatred that Link had never seen.

"I told you; no, you can't see my daughter!"

"How could you do this to her, Bo?" Link shouted, overcome with his own rage. "She doesn't want to spend her days cooped up in her room, she deserves so much more than that!"

"She deserves a life without you in it, which I intend to give her!" Bo yelled, advancing to the base of the house. "And don't try to tell me what's best for my daughter!"

"Yeah well, I'm looking at your daughter's face now and it certainly seems as if she could do better" Link muttered loud enough for Bo to hear.

"Go Link, just go." Bo said quietly. "Without you here, she will finally be able to recover."

"Bo, I urge you to see sense." Link said with a sigh. "Your daughter is dying. She looks as if she has not eaten in days. She is slowly losing the urge to stay alive. Keep her in their too much longer and one day, you'll walk into her room and find a rope around her neck."

Bo's response, loud as it was, was not heard by Link. He had turned away from the mayor to face the mayor's daughter once more. She was still looking up at him, apparently perplexed that he was yelling at something that she could not see herself.

Link slowly put the palm of his hand to the outside of the window, and Ilia did the same on the inside. "I'll come back soon." Link said very quietly, though he knew that she could not hear a word he said.

"Link," Bo roared. "Get off my roof!"

Link took one last look at Ilia before he finally complied. Without so much as a glance at Bo, Link made his way back to the ladder and climbed down. He ran through the town back to the gates before he finally looked back. He would not see this place, these people for a long time, Link knew that much.

He could feel a single tear rolling down his cheeks as he whispered for the final time, "Good-bye."

Every bird leaves its nest sooner or later.

* * *

><p>Where was a good place to go?<p>

A couple of places came to mind. They were peaceful places that held were held with the utmost respect by Link. Special, important places that Link would never forget about in his entire life. But they were memorials, not suited for curing the loneliness he was currently experiencing.

The sacred grove was a nice quiet place. Link could probably feel at home there. But going there would cut him off completely from society. He wanted to stay a little attached to the society that rejected because there was a small chance, indeed just a sliver of hope, that his society may once again accept him.

With too many places to choose from and no conclusive reason to go to any one of them before another, Link decided to do what he told Rusl he would do.

And so, Link, instead of picking a certain place to go, let Epona steer herself. He basically rode around wearily on her back for the afternoon and lost any sense of direction, because he wasn't really focused on where Epona was taking him.

He didn't do much on the journey, but he had plenty to think about. He wanted to believe that, with his absence, Bo would let Ilia out once more and she would start living again. He wanted to, but his gut told him she would not. And there was nothing he could do for her because Bo would only lock her up again if he returned. All he could do for now was spend time away and hope for the best.

By nightfall, when Link got off Epona to give her a break and call it a day, he finally found where he was. Epona had led him to the small little lakes in southern Hyrule field. No longer full of goblins and those menacing birds, Hyrule field had actually become a serene setting. It was becoming fall and the tree's leaves were beginning to change color and fall harmlessly to the ground.

Link set up a humble tent on the shore of the shallow lake while Epona stood ankle-deep in the water and lapped up a well-earned drink after a long day. It wasn't hard to set a tent, he had gotten used to it in all those days when he and Midna stopped and needed rest. And that was often with all the travelling they did.

Recalling those events in his past, Link couldn't help but smile. He received no help now, just as he received no help back then. It was laughable to think that Midna would be kind enough to help with his tent. She refused to because she claimed that she didn't sleep in the tent and therefore, did not need to help set the tent.

At night, just like much of the day, Midna would be in his shadow. So technically, she was in the tent, because that is where Link's shadow was. But she would just find other lame excuses to get out of physical labor. Link was the brawn and Midna was the commanding force, or so she claimed.

Though there was some times that she slept in the tents at night. Mainly on dark, dismal, rainy nights, Midna would sometimes come out of her shadow and seek refuge next to him in the tent. Though, Link figured, that was just for comfort in dark times. She would have done the same had it been any other person.

Though, Link thought looking back, she did, rarely, show some signs of affection. But that had to be her trying to manipulate him. She was trying to bend him to her will to get her kingdom back. Not that it really mattered anymore, anyway. She was gone from his life; with the mirror shattered, there was no remaining connection between the worlds of light and twilight.

Link had fought the evil king, Ganondorf with the intention of protecting her and Zelda. And he had succeeded. But at what cost? Ganondorf and his tyranny and made it impossible for any shred of a relationship to blossom between him and either Midna or Zelda. Two close friends had been the sacrifice for Hyrule to get back on its feet.

And though Midna never really slept with him, rather in his shadow, Link had always felt certain at ease sleeping seemingly alone in the tent because he knew Midna would be watching. He knew that he could call her at a moment's notice if danger showed up, as it frequently did during their adventure. She could be counted on to help him out of sticky situations.

And so, for the very first time in the wilderness, Link slept alone. Alone and scared.

* * *

><p>Link woke the next morning very late. It was getting close to midday by the time that Link had packed up the tent, and that seemed to be no problem for Epona. She, too, had slept in late, even later than Link. She was still curled up outside the tent and gently snoring in her sleep. And when asleep, a horse could be very stubborn, especially this horse.<p>

Instead of trying to wake up the beast, Link went to find some food. Of course, he had packed food, but he had no idea where he was travelling or how long he would be travelling, so he thought it would be best to save that food for a time when it would be harder to find food, if there was such a time. It was best to be prepared.

Near his camp location, Link found a big apple tree. He grabbed a few of the ones on the lower branches and headed back to camp. And, not to his great surprise, Epona was still snoring away. Good thing he had found apples. She was a sucker for apples.

All he had to do was put one in front of her nose and she popped right up and swallowed the thing whole. Never before had he seen a horse move quicker than Epona when she found apples. She soon realized that Link was eating another one. She nudged him with her nose in his shoulder and neighed expectantly.

Link laughed. "At least you will never leave me, girl." He said, stroking her neck. "Though I do get the sneaking suspicion that you only like me for my apples…"

Epona neighed once more and Link laughed again. "Fine, take it." Link said, throwing the half-eaten up in the air. Epona lunged at it and caught it her mouth. "I'll just go get some more." He muttered in defeat. Grabbing two more off the tree, Link handed one more to Epona before putting the other in his bag, so Epona wouldn't go after that one as well.

"Alright, girl," Link said, jumping on her back. "Let's go!"

Making sure that he had a good grip on her neck, Link laid his head down on her neck and drifted off to sleep while Epona took lead again.

* * *

><p>Link awoke at a dead stop. Epona was no longer moving; rather, she seemed to be trying to get his attention. Link got off her back, still drowsy, and tried to calm Epona down.<p>

"Shh, girl, it's alright." Link said.

It was barely past midday, they couldn't have been riding but for maybe two hours. But when he tried to get back on Epona, she refused.

"What's the matter, Epona?" Link asked, perplexed.

He took a look around at the setting. Epona had travelled right up the little pass that led to the southern entrance of Hyrule castle town. They were now at the foot of the staircase that led up to the hustle and bustle of city life, Hyrule Castle Town.

"What, is this where you want me to go?" Link asked, amused.

Epona neighed, as if saying that it was. Smiling, Link gave her the core of the apple that he had eaten this morning as a reward. "Thanks, girl." He said.

Epona, as only Link would know, was a very smart horse. She seemed to be able to _sense_ things. She had an uncanny awareness about her. She was always able to warn Link of danger far before it hit and had the ability to know where to go to get a good shot at the enemy before they could get a good shot at him.

And here was a good example of that awareness. She must know that Link is being called here, and so she led him here. What he told Rusl was wrong. He was going where Epona, not the goddesses, was leading him.

Grabbing her reins, Link led her up the small flight of stairs and found a stable for her to stay a while.

But why Castle Town?

Did it have something to do with Zelda? Was he supposed to make amends with her? That seemed plausible. But it also seemed highly unlikely to happen. What else was there is Castle Town, though?

Shrugging, Link walked across the drawbridge and into the town, where his fate waited for him.


	3. New Hope and New Life

**Chapter 3 - New Hope and New Life**

Link walked into the overly crowded Castle Town with a heavy heart and an open mind. Many people were out and about, running off to wherever they needed to go. He was far from his quiet, peaceful home in Ordon, that much was for sure.

He lamented in the fact that he would not fit in here. As of this moment, Link was dwelling among the very people who had ostracized him. They were the ones who had pushed him away. They discarded him with their garbage. In part, it was these people that even caused him to travel here to Castle Town.

But most of these men, women and children did not know him by face, and none of them knew what the hero wore instead of the hero's tunic in everyday life. Link had been undercover for much of his adventures. And even when he showed himself, he did a good job of not attracting attention to himself. As such, it was a pretty safe bet that nobody in the Castle Town today knew that the hero was mingling among them.

And that was why Link entered the hustle and bustle of city life with an open mind. Perhaps now he could blend in with society and lead a normal life, the life that was taken from him, the life that every man deserves.

And as Link walked through the crowds in the streets of the city, he felt, for perhaps the first time since the war started, at peace. Still, everybody was going about their daily business and had no time to talk to him, but Link was content because he was once again with other people. It was a start.

Still, the fact of the matter remained that it was getting dark out. He would either have to find lodging soon or be prepared to sleep out in the streets.

In East Castle Town, Link found a big building that offered over-the-night lodging. Upon opening the creaking wooden door, he found that it was quite packed. The whole ground level held tables full of people either eating or waiting to be served. Link walked over to the counter where he found a grizzly, elderly man wiping clean the inside of beer glasses.

The man peered at him through his long grey bangs that had to obscure his vision. "Can I help you?" He grunted.

"Any rooms left?" Link asked doubtfully.

"Sure do. Got one left."

"How much?"

"Well, it being so late, I'm going to have to charge you extra. It'll be fifty rupees, food costs extra."

"That's alright." Link said, simply relieved at the fact that they had a room. It would be nice to sleep on a bed after his experience with the tent last night. He pulled out one of the many purple rupees that he had in his pockets and put it on the counter.

The man picked up the purple rupee and placed it under the counter somewhere. In doing so, he also picked up a ring of two keys and put them on the counter.

"One for your room, the other to get into this building, if for some reason you are caught outside when we close. Your room is the only room on the fourth floor." The man said as Link picked up the keys. "Keys are due back by noon tomorrow, unless you decide to buy another night."

Link nodded his thanks before hurrying up to his room. It wasn't hard to find. Once he navigated through the crowded room to the staircase, all he had to do was follow the stairs up to the fourth floor, which was the uppermost floor, and down the short hallway to the only door. He slipped in the first key and indeed it was his room key.

He opened up the door and placed the bag full of supplies he had been carrying on floor next to the bed. The room itself certainly would not win any awards, but it was big and fairly clean. There was a small desk, a bed and a nightstand, but otherwise it was bare. On the far wall was a small alcove which led to a balcony overlooking the streets of East Castle Town. Not only that, but the balcony also provided a great view of the grand Hyrule Castle.

He was hungry by now, having eaten nothing besides a few apples all day, but he had no intention of eating from this building's reservoir. Beside the fact that the bar's food downstairs did not seem too appetizing, he felt it was time to pay a visit to a friend.

He went back down the stairs and into the streets once again. They were significantly less populated in the dark than during the high time of day, but there certainly was a nightlife for those who wanted it. In Castle Town's main plaza, a band was playing his favorite tune under the torchlight.

Link smiled and dropped a yellow rupee into the hat they hat set out for tips.

"Thank you, kind sir." The lead guitar player said as Link did so.

Link just smiled and continued on his way. It had been quite a while since he was last in Castle Town. Some of the little things, like the music, he had forgotten, but it was a pleasant surprise to be reintroduced to them.

He continued into the south part of town where things were quite a bit quieter than in the plaza. He passed into the small, dimly lit alleyway and down the familiar path to Telma's bar. It was obviously still open, bright lights flashed from the other side of the door. Quietly he opened the door.

"Link, sweetie!" Telma exclaimed as Link walked in. "How are you doing? Come, have a seat!" She said happily, indicating a spot at the bar right of her.

The bar was a pleasant sight for Link's eyes. The place was as friendly as ever, but Link could not help but notice the vacant seats at the table at the back of the bar with the map of Hyrule on it.

Link took the spot Telma had pointed out and said, "Hey, Telma! Long time no see."

"You got that right!" Telma said, handing him a small cup of her 'specialty.' It was something of chicken noodle soup, but it had a whole bunch of extra spices and to Link, it was the most delicious thing in the entire world. "It's been almost a month since you last visited. Something happen? Everything alright?" She asked, looking concerned. When she had looked at his face, she saw a worn and tested soul.

"Yeah, sorry, Telma." Link said, sipping a spoonful of the soup. "I've had a lot going on."

"Care to talk about it?"

They always said that talking about it eased the pain. That it helped comfort and renew the body and soul. Even if the person you told didn't console, just getting it off your chest can be the best way toward getting through it. But Link never got a chance to talk about it.

Well, he had Epona. While she was probably the smartest horse Link had ever seen, he needed to tell someone that could help him through this.

"Well, this whole..." Link paused as he tried to find the right word. "ordeal I've gotten myself caught up in...it is really starting to take a toll on me."

"I can only imagine." Telma said in response.

"I'd definitely take fight Ganondorf again over this." Link said with a sigh. "At least he is quick to the point. This just keeps dragging out..."

"I know what you mean." Telma said with a condescending smile. "So things are still just as bad at Ordon then?"

"Telma…" Link sighed. "I left Ordon."

"What?" Telma asked, shocked but did not seem disapproving. "Why?"

"I couldn't stand it anymore." Link said, his eyes fixed on his soup. "I felt like I was trapped in a cage there."

"So things aren't better there yet, are they?" Telma asked, though she already knew the answer.

"No."

"Don't give up, honey. They'll come around."

"But that is not even the worst part." Link said, twirling his spoon in his soup. "I tried to see Ilia the day I left, but Bo's got her locked up. I haven't spoken to her in months."

"Sounds like a man who doesn't know the real you."

"Yeah," Link said with a grunt. "Him and the rest of Hyrule..."

"Well," Telma replied. "you could go show them the real you again."

"I only wish I knew a way that I could do that." Link said with a frown. "All that I can do now is wait for this whole thing to pan out."

"It will Link, perhaps earlier than you think."

Link pushed his now-empty bowl across the bar, back over to her. "Thanks, Telma."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Telma replied, smiling and taking the bowl away. She continued. "You know, Castle Town has had its share of hardship recently."

"Really?" Link asked, curiously. Being shunned by society, he was a little behind on current events. "What happened?"

"Well, nothing really happened. It got sorted out, but a couple of weeks ago, Princess Zelda tried to dethrone herself as Princess. Guards caught her trying to run away."

"What?" Link asked. Now this really astonished him, that didn't sound like Zelda at all. "Why would she try to do that?"

"Nobody really knows. Some think that they stress has gotten to her. Others just think that she is going mad. I don't know, your guess is as good as mine, but I'm fairly sure it's not stress and I know she's not insane." She paused. "Maybe it's something more personal."

"Wow. I wonder what's going on?" Link asked rhetorically.

"The monarchy has been a little on edge since then. I've heard that they have more guards watching over her so that she wouldn't be able to try and escape again."

"How did everyone receive this?" Link asked curiously.

"Well, obviously, the people began to think of the monarchy as incompetent. There were even rumors about a planned rebellion a few days after Zelda had been caught trying to run away. All of that has seemed to have stabilized since, though."

"Well, that's good." Link said, distractedly. "Thanks again, Telma. It's getting late, I should get going."

"Sure thing, sweetie!" Telma said happily. "And remember," she added suggestively. "There is still a secret entrance to the castle right here in my place…you know, if you want to, well, _check_ things out…"

Link waved good-bye and walked out the door and back into the streets. He walked through the deserted walkways back to the lodge and used his key to open up the door. The entry room was now empty; everyone had, by now, finished their food and were getting ready for bed.

He walked up three flights of stairs and back into his room. He took off his boots and placed them at the foot of his bed. He was tired enough to go to sleep now but he didn't. Instead, he got up and walked out onto the balcony. From the small balcony, Link had a perfect view of the city. And under the bright moonlight, Link was able to see much of the grand city. And with all the stars out tonight, it was a great place to think.

Though he did not tell Telma, Link did have his own theory for why Zelda tried to get away. It indeed was very personal. He knew that she pushed him away for a reason.

It must be extremely painful to shun a friend. That was why Link thought she tried to do that disloyal act. She had to push Link away. It was what society wanted and if she went against the flow of society, she too would be shunned.

So, Link assumed, she tried to get away, so she could live without the guilt of hurting a friend again. Well, at least that is what he hoped. It was comforting to think that she stills cares, even if that isn't completely proven yet.

Well, that's just what Link thought. But before Link opened the door back into his room so he could get some shut-eye, he could've sworn he saw a glint of an eye coming from a high-up balcony on Hyrule castle.

* * *

><p>Link always was an early riser. The next morning, Link woke up and was ready for the day ahead well before the sun had risen. The way Link saw it; it would be a waste of daylight to sleep in until the sun was directly above his head. The day before had been an exception. He was exhausted and needed time to escape reality.<p>

But he is ready now. He was prepared to face the trials of a normal day head on.

He wasn't sure yet if he was going to stay another night. To be safe, he paid the man with another purple rupee in order to stay in possession of the keys. Link then promptly walked out the lodge and back into the streets. Light was just beginning to creep around the horizon and the streets were fairly quiet. All of the stores still held a wooden sign that read 'closed' in their windows and many of the candle lights that were placed through the city at constant intervals still held lustrous flames of beauty and artificial light.

He still had no idea what this new day had in store for him, nor did he have any plan whatsoever. In the short term, he decided to go check on Epona, and feed her if need be.

He found Epona right where he had left her, outside the gates of South Castle Town. Still tied up, Epona seemed happy and content to sleep in the hay. She was perceptive though. She heard Link approaching and she quickly jumped up and neighed happily, getting as close to him as her rope would allow her.

Link walked up to her and scratched her behind the ears and Epona neighed gratefully. Link gave her an apple he had picked up back at the lodging this morning. She gulped it down with her usual vigor and Link noticed that she had plenty of hay to eat for days to come, if they were going to stay that long.

Link patted her on the head as she laid back down, and then walked back over the thin drawbridge to the city.

Once back into the city, Link found himself in the middle of a small crowd that had emerged in the short time he was gone. The sun was coming up and many people, mainly workers going to their jobs, were in the streets.

These people were almost as oblivious as before, though he did notice a few cringe as he walked by. He wasn't sure if that was because they had recognized him or if they could just tell by the air that surrounded him that he was a man of power and strength.

Link glanced up at the giant castle that stood before him, in all its majesty, and Link silently wished that he could see Zelda…just one more time.

It was then that Link remembered what Telma had said last night. He was too exhausted to really take in what she had said fully, but now he knew that there was a way to see Zelda again! And the entrance was in the house of perhaps the only person in town who would allow him to enter such a place!

That night, he would give it a go.

* * *

><p>Around dusk that day, Link prepared to leave. He had spent much of his day waiting in anticipation in his room. It made him really antsy, knowing that he could get to see Zelda again. He was so close, but he knew it would be very dangerous to sneak into the castle at midday. There were probably more guards in the daytime than at night, and anybody might see him sneaking around on top of the roof. It would be safer to go at night, but that didn't calm Link much.<p>

Locking the door behind him, Link walked out his room and down the stairs to ground level. He walked out the door into the decreasingly populated streets. Pretty soon, he found himself inside Telma's bar.

"Hey there, honey!" Telma exclaimed when he walked in. "Come to take my offer?"

Link smiled shakily and nodded. Telma continued. "The ladder's behind the curtain."

Saying his thanks, Link went behind the curtain that separated the main part of the room from the part where Telma's group used to hang out. He grabbed the ladder he found behind it and propped it up against the ledge where he knew the secret entrance was.

He climbed up the ledge and entered the entrance that led him to Jangle's house. After he had regained movement and lost that goldish glow, Jangle had packed up his bags and left town, leaving no trace of his being behind. The house been deserted since then, all the better for Link. Being a fugitive, it wouldn't be beneficial for him to be charged and jailed because of trespassing.

Though the mounds of gold and other valuables were gone, the treasure chest that was lodged in the ground was still there; the lone accessory in the otherwise bare house. Link opened it up and jumped down the hole that it concealed.

Link weaved his way through the familiar sewer setting and past the various riddles that were concealed within. He soon realized how much easier this sewer was to navigate as a wolf than as a man. It took the better part of a half hour to dig through the dirt and twice he fell off the ropes helping him up the broken staircase.

Eventually, though, he was back outside and on top of the roof. It was pretty dark out now, with the majority of the light coming from lit windows in the castle. Link made his way quickly across the rooftops. Given the lack of light, he didn't have to worry about any bystander spotting him on the rooftops of a castle. The periodic, spontaneous gusts of wind helped him get across the broken, fluttering bridges, and before he knew it, he was at the small window that was in the hallway that led to Zelda's room.

Link looked down at the hallway and saw what looked to be a butler leaving her room. It seemed that he came at the right time. Link jumped down into the hallway when he was sure that the man had left. With superior agility, Link landed without an audible thud and walked up the slightly sloping staircase to the door that Zelda was behind.

Taking a deep breath, Link knocked twice on the door. From inside, she called, "Come in."

Link walked into the room to find that Zelda was standing a few steps in front of him, with her back to him.

"Thank you for the towels, Benson-" Zelda said, thinking it was her butler again. But when she turned around, she found out that she was very wrong.

"Link!" She exclaimed. "Sh! Sh! Not now!" She looked around with anxiety. "Hurry! Get under the bed!" She read the look Link gave her. "Hurry! I'll explain later!"

Perplexed, Link wedged his way underneath her bed, which was not hard at all given its size. A few minutes later, Link's confusion was answered when someone knocked on the door, obviously something Zelda was expecting.

"Here is your towel, your Majesty." The man said. As it turns out, it was the butler that Link had seen earlier.

"Thank you, Benson." She said lightly. It was very hard to detect, but Link could still hear a small haste in her voice.

"Would you like assistance with your bath, your Majesty?"

"No thank you, Benson. If you could leave me at peace for the rest of the night, I think I'll be fine."

The man bowed and left the room. Link took that as a cue to emerge from under the bed. Link was immediately engulfed in a hug that he had been hoping for since the end of the war.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed. "You don't know how much I have missed you."

Link patted her on the back and silently thanked the goddesses for this joyful reunion. After a while, Zelda pulled away and Link was finally able to get a good look at her.

Zelda had not changed seemingly at all. Her smiling face was just as beautiful as Link had remembered it. She still wore the same elegant dress that Link had come to expect of her. And never before had Link so happy.

She looked exasperated. "Link, I am so very sorry! I never meant to do anything to harm you! I've been hoping for a while that you would come to see me, that you would forgive me..."

"Sh, Princess." He knew exactly what she was talking about. "I forgave you for that long ago."

"But I just sat by idly while you were thrown away!" She seemed to be on the verge of crying. "I should have done something…"

"Zelda, there was nothing that you could have done. You were doing what you could for your kingdom."

She smiled. "I don't deserve a friend like you."

Link smiled. "But Zelda, what happened? I heard you tried to run away from your kingdom?"

Zelda looked down at the ground, ashamed. "I couldn't take it anymore. I was hurting you and I knew it. I had to do something."

"I figured that was it. Zelda, I want you to promise me something though. Don't put me in front of Hyrule. I will be fine, don't worry about me. But it is Hyrule you should worry about. In this period of disarray, Hyrule needs a strong leader. They need you, Zelda."

"I know, but..."

Zelda didn't seem swayed. "But you still want to get away?" Link asked.

"Link…There's more."

"What is it?"

"Link…" Zelda started, with apprehension. She continued to avoid contact with his eyes and instead, focused on her feet.

"What's wrong, Zelda?

"Link, I'm pregnant."


	4. Of Slander and Fortune

**Chapter 4 – Of Slander and Fortune**

Link looked on with a mixture of pity and disbelief as Zelda stared at her feet in shame. Link tried to comfort her, but he really had no idea what to do, what to say. Not even two hours ago, he had come to the castle with the intention of reconciling with Zelda, but now it was she who was reconciling with him. Not only that, but here stood Zelda, beloved Princess of Hyrule, carrying an unwed baby.

How did this happen? Who was the father? Did Hyrule know? All these questions, and many more, popped into his head all at once.

But it did make a bit more sense. Hyrule was none too forgiving when it came to childbearing before marriage. They viewed Matrimony as a holy celebration, one of love and trust between two people. And the ultimate gift of any marriage is the child. More than just a new life in the world, the child symbolized that love two people had in each other.

There was no other way, in the eye of public opinion, to have a child. All other mothers of unwed babies would most likely be driven from town and ostracized. Worse still would the punishment for the innocent child. If a child grows up in a nice, wholesome environment, then it will grow up to be a good person who contributes to society with a respect and passion. But if an unfortunate child is raised up in the wilderness with only one parent, if it even survives, it will know of nothing but hate and spite.

Imagine if something like that were to happen to a Princess! Imagine the hell that would be let loose if something like this were to get out! Naturally, Zelda would want to avoid that.

And yet, the deed had been done. There was no way to take it back. What's done is done, and the consequences would come into fruition sooner or later. Knowledge could do wonders if Link was to cheer her up at all. As hard as this must be for her, he had to know. And as he had found out not to long ago, talking about it can be the best cure.

And as she stood there in her broken state, he regretted having to do this. Right to the point, Link asked. "Who is the father, Zelda?"

Zelda's eyes met his own, and never before did Link see such regret, such remorse swimming around in her eyes so freely. With her eyelids drooping slightly, her face showed just what was going through her mind at this second. Never breaking the eye contact, Zelda replied quietly, "He seemed to be a good enough man, at first…"

Her voice was quiet and broken, as defeated as she was. She began searching around the room for anything to look at, anything other than his eyes.

"Who are you talking about?"

Zelda sighed heavily, as if to make this guilty burden called truth lighter and more bearable. "About two months ago, father called in foreign dignitaries to discuss what we should do, moving forward and past this time of war and desolation. He met with them, trying to establish peace with the nations on the other side of the Gerudo Desert and past the Faron Woods. With quite a bit of persuasion on his part, he was able to make shaky treaties with all the nations that the dignitaries represented. All is looking good for Hyrule, in that respect."

"And you got together with one of them? And he left you?" Link surmised, a touch of anger his voice as he tried to respond unemotionally. He suddenly got an image of an old, fat man dressed in brightly colored robes with a head that engulfed his neck.

"Not exactly…" She replied, turning her attention to her feet.

"No? Who, then?"

"To prepare for the upcoming important political gathering," Zelda replied. "Father hired many new servants. He paid them good money to come in and make the castle spotless in order to make good impressions."

"Ah, so it was one of these servants?"

"Yes." Zelda replied shakily. "He was a very handsome man, Aaron was." She said his name almost dreamily. "I never knew his full name, but he was charming and funny, hardworking and sensitive. We had met when he was cleaning my room, and I gave him a chance. We began to see each other more and more often as time went on. Father's dignitaries had left long ago and the servants were relieved of their duties and yet, Aaron stayed behind, even without pay or a job to complete. There was a time not too long ago when I thought that I loved him…" Her eyes began to gloss over, but still she continued. "But I know now that that was truly naïve of me to think. He left after he had heard that I was pregnant, leaving no trace behind."

It truly was a lot of information to take in. "Zelda, no matter what happens, I will stand behind you."

There was the smile he was looking for. "I know, Link, I know."

"Does anybody else know yet?"

"J-just a few maids and butlers."

"So you were just going to run away? Desert your kingdom?" Link asked, trying to sound as unbiased as he could.

She didn't reply, instead she stared at her feet.

"The Zelda I know wouldn't leave her people." Link said proudly. "The Zelda I know gives her life to her kingdom. Zelda, as I already said, you can't leave them. They need you. Now more than ever."

Zelda retaliated hotly. "There is nothing I can do! What do you plan I do? Even if I don't tell them, what are they going to think when they see my baby a few months from now? That's not exactly something I can hide. And if I do tell them, they will hate me and I will lose all the respect that I have now. There's no way out of this…"

Link had to think about that one. She was caught in a very awkward position indeed, with no exit or easy way out. Boy, this was quite a pickle Zelda found herself in. What _can _you do? Unless…

"Zelda, this is going to sound very cruel, but please think about it." Link paused for a moment before saying, "Tell them that it was my fault. Tell them that I am the father."

"Link, no…" she replied quietly.

"Zelda, listen to me." Link responded with an air of confidence and resolve about him. "Right now, I cannot fall any farther. I'm the lowest of the low in this kingdom, and that's the truth. You know it as well as I. There is nothing more that can happen to worsen my life. I can handle this. I've been able to handle things much worse than this before."

"But you, Zelda," Link continued. "You are the center of this kingdom. Your actions will be traced, and if you make one bad decision, the entire kingdom will be all over it. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain. Yet, you have stuck it out through thick and thin. Please, Zelda, you mean too much to this kingdom. Let me take the fall."

"Link, do you know what you're asking for?" Zelda asked, stunned and angry. "If you aren't locked in the cells for life, you will be living away from society for the rest of your life! I can't let you do that to yourself!"

"I've been living away from society for a while now. I've learned how to get accustomed to it. There is no reason for you to get shunned as well. The higher you are, the harder you fall, Zelda. You would be stripped of your ranks and thrown out on the streets. The entire kingdom will turn against you. But if you reveal the father, make it seem as if it is the father's fault, you will be spared. I know these people well enough to know that they do not want to blame people they like, they like to blame those they hate. What are they going to do to me? Hate me more? I think I can handle that."

"Never, Link." Zelda said firmly. "I won't let you suffer for my mistakes. I am to blame and I will accept my punishment. You've done so much for Hyrule already; you do not deserve to suffer so greatly."

"I am already suffering." Link responded heatedly. "Even if you don't tell them that I did it, it's not like everything would be just fine for me. Whether you make the decision or not, I will still be an outcast. There won't be any change there. The only difference would be that you wouldn't be an outcast too."

"Link..." she sighed. Everything he said made perfect sense but doing something like that to a friend was never easy.

"I would die for Hyrule, Zelda. It is my home. It is my everything. I want to do this because you are what's best for Hyrule. If I do this, you will continue to lead on. If you ever left, Zelda, Hyrule will fall into chaos. I will take the fall in your place. Please, tell them that I am the father."

Zelda looked back at him pityingly, biting her top lip in apprehension of making the decision that would save her title. Curse him! Why must he be so caring and generous? She knew that he would never leave until he got it his way, so…

"Alright, Link…" She sighed in resignation. "I'll tell the people tomorrow. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

With an ever so slight grin on his face, Link said, "Never been so sure about something in my entire life."

In a mixed act of gratitude and passion, Zelda threw her arms around him and nested her head into his shoulder. Finally, she was able to release the emotions that had been pent up inside of her for a while. Sobbing into his shoulder, she mumbled, "I'm going to miss you."

Link did his best to comfort her by wrapping his arms around her waist, though he couldn't really tell if it was working. "You talk as if we are never going to see each other again." Link said wearily.

"Are you kidding? They will never let you anywhere near the castle again!" Zelda said, managing to convey her thoughts with a strong passion, though never raising her voice above a whisper.

"Did they ever?" Link asked coyly.

"I suppose not." She said with a slight smile.

"We'll see each other again, don't worry about that." Then he added, with a grin, "I have my sources."

Outside, it was pitch black. Link couldn't see a thing out the windows. And still, they stood there, wrapped in each other's embrace. He couldn't even remember how long they had been standing there, but he'd estimate it at half an hour.

Slowly, Zelda began to perk her teary-eyed head up once more and back out of his comforting embrace. Link looked right into her eyes, just as she stared deep into his. He saw pity in her eyes, because of what she was about to do to him, but she also held a look of pride.

Link back up, and grabbing the doorknob out, said, "Best of luck, Princess Zelda. I will see you soon."

He began to open the door, but Zelda's voice urged otherwise. "What are you doing? Link, you can't leave now! You won't be able to see a thing. Why don't you stay here tonight?"

"I can't Zelda." Link said sympathetically. "I need to be long gone by the time you reveal anything. It would not be very smart of me to be roaming the streets of Castle Town while you tell everyone that I am to blame."

"Oh goddesses," She sighed. "Link, I still feel horrible about doing this to you."

"Don't" Link grinned. "You aren't doing anything to me, really. But you are doing wonders for Hyrule."

"No." Zelda frowned. "I am doing wonders for myself. Why do I get off completely for something that I did while you must suffer for it?"

"Please, Zelda." Link said quietly. "If not for Hyrule, do this for me. I want you to do this. I don't want to see you end up like me, you deserve so much more than this."

Zelda looked him in the eyes and saw that he was going to argue no more.

"Well, I guess this is it…" She sniffled slightly and paused. "But before you go, just promise me one last thing. Promise me that you won't do anything stupid. I want to see you again, but I don't want you to see you through cell bars. If my guards catch you trying to sneak in, you'll see nothing but cold stone for the rest of your days, and there is nothing even I can do about that."

Link grinned slightly. "When have I ever done anything stupid?" He asked innocently.

"On occasions too numerous to count." She replied lightly.

Finally taking his first step out the door leading into the hallway, Link looked back at Zelda with regret and waved, before shutting the door. It would be hard, but it had to be done. To preserve a Princess and to preserve a kingdom.

Getting out of the castle was no simple task as it had been when Midna was with him. Normally this would be the part where Midna would warp him away. But this was not the case anymore. It took him a few minutes to scale the wall back up to the window leading to the roof outside. From the roof, he navigated down the wall outside the castle in pitch black. Taking each step with extreme care and constantly making sure he wasn't near a window, it took Link almost half an hour to get down.

Soon though, Link found himself on solid ground once again. From the base of the castle, Link found the drawbridge, which was thankfully unguarded, and exited back into the streets of Hyrule.

* * *

><p>After a quick hour-long nap back in his room, Link began to pack up his things. It was time to leave the sanctuary of this city and once more be thrown into the wild. After putting his few, various possessions into his knapsack, Link walked downstairs, where the people were beginning to show up in the dawn's early light. Link handed the keys, as well as a hearty tip, back to the man who owned the place. The man grunted sleepily in reply and stashed the keys and the orange rupee somewhere under the counter.<p>

Back in the streets, Link slung his knapsack over his back and began to walk through the town for what could be the last time he set foot in this place for a while. The sun was just beginning to peek over the walls of the city, and many people were already out and about.

Link made his way through the relatively quiet streets of Castle Town. In South Castle Town, he took a good, long look down the small alleyway to Telma's bar.

_Boy, she will be in for a surprise tomorrow_, Link thought with a grin.

He passed many men and women in the streets and he silently wondered when the next time he would see another person again, after he left this place. Because after today, he would need to find sanctuary away from people for a while.

Once he crossed the drawbridge out of Castle Town, he found that Epona was still tied right where he had left her. He felt bad for her. She had been standing here, motionless, for about a day in a half. Of course, horses can stand much more than that, but all the same, Link didn't feel any better.

Epona jumped up at his arrival, even though it was well before the time that she normally woke up at. She sprang up and walked back in forth with joy and longing.

He latched the small knapsack he had onto her back, as he usually did, making sure the knots were nice and tight. He untied Epona's reigns from the stable and she was finally able to walk an extended distance again. Wild and free was Epona. Never wanting to stay still, Epona loved run around in the opens fields, with or without a rider.

Much of the day after that went in a blur for Link. He left right then, ready and prepared for whatever may happen in the time to come. No regrets, no looking back.

He let Epona do the steering again. She led him away from walls of Hyrule without hesitation and galloped with resolve. He was nearing the Kakariko Gorge around noon that day, and unbeknownst to him, that was around the time that his act was being revealed. By now, the most urban city in Hyrule was learning of the hero's supposed "sin". This information was being received by the public with anger and forgiveness.

No, not forgiveness for their savior, but forgiveness for the Princess, who was no longer held in any kind of contempt after the fiasco she had caused recently.

All was going according to plan.

So why was he so miserable then? This act had effectively destroyed any chance of him redeeming himself in the eyes of the public. There was almost no chance of him seeing any of his friends again. All he ever knew and loved, if they had not already despised him, now hated him beyond belief. Why? Why must all that happen?

It is what's best for the kingdom. There is no room for the individual in a kingdom. Everything was done for the benefit of mankind, not man. If one must suffer for the good of mankind, let it be done.

Link reared Epona to a halt right in front of the bridge. She had not ridden in a few days, and though she seemed ready to continue riding, he decided to give her a break, for the goddesses knew that he needed one.

When he had gotten off, Epona began grazing around lazily, seemingly bored. Link had always thought that horses were very stoic creatures that never let their emotions show. If that was true, than Epona was just an odd ball in the bunch. She was very good at proclaiming her emotions; particularly anger, hunger, and jealousy. It was funny because Link never thought that any animals even experienced jealousy. Obviously, he was wrong because Epona would neigh loudly and try to nudge him away if he even tried to just pet another horse on the back.

Link picked up a few small rocks and walked over to the flimsy wooden railing that prevented anyone from falling into the gorge. Sighing, he started to throw them, one by one, into the gorge. A barely audible _clunk_ could be heard a few seconds after each rock was sent spiraling down into the abyss.

"Having a bad day, eh?"

Link dropped what remained of his small rock collection down into the gorge due to the surprise of hearing another voice. Indeed, he himself almost fell in as well. After regaining his balance, he whirled around to meet the source of the voice, his right hand on the hilt of the Master sword, still in its scabbard the whole while. He soon realized, though, that he had nothing to fear in this voice.

The man who had talked to him raised both of his hands up to show that he meant no harm. "Whoa, easy there, buddy." The man said, something of smirk on his face.

Link took his hand off the hilt of his blade steadily and the man eased up a bit.

The man seemed to be not that much older than Link. He looked to be late teens to early twenties. The man wore his shoulder-length dull red hair in a hasty ponytail and his clothes looked to be the clothes of a wanderer. His beige long-sleeved shirt and navy blue pants were wrinkled and tattered, and showed much wear and tear.

"The name's Nathaniel. Nate for short." The man stated, offering a handshake.

Link took it and shook the hand firmly. "Link." He replied simply.

"Link?" The man looked a little stunned. "You mean, like, the name of the hero? His name was Link, wasn't it?" Nate paused for an answer, but Link just shrugged, not really knowing how else to answer in this type of situation. Link could only assume that his man had no idea who he was talking to.

Nate continued. "Well, it was something like that. But let me tell you, our kingdom is doing him grave disservice."

Link looked on, a little confused, but not in the way Nate thought he would be. _Does that mean that he, dare I say, cares for me?_ There was only one way to figure out.

Pretending to be oblivious, Link asked, "Why?"

"Are you kidding?" Nate said, grinning. "Last I heard, this hero was pushed away by his own Princess. That was a few months ago, but all the same. He deserves to be brought in, not pushed away."

Though he fought hard to keep a straight face, Link started to well up inside. Finally… Someone who actually cared for him.

"Oh." Link replied. "I'm more of an explorer myself, I don't catch news that often."

"Yeah, I feel you. I am kind of the same way." He paused. "Is that your horse?" Nate asked after a while. He watched the smart beast graze in the field with interest.

Link thought that much was pretty obvious. Who else's horse could it be? "Yep. That's Epona." He replied shortly.

"So, you're traveling somewhere?" Nate asked, though he already knew the answer. When Link nodded, he continued. "Where are you off to?"

As if the goddesses gave him inspiration on the conundrum, Link said, "Zora's Domain." without even thinking about it.

"Cool!" Nate exclaimed happily. "That's where I'm going too! Care if I come along?"

Finally. A friend.


	5. Nate

**Chapter 5 - Nate**

That day would become marked as, quite possibly, the happiest day Link had experienced in the past couple of months. Not only did he finally feel at ease again, knowing Zelda hadn't completely forgotten about him, but there was much more. He found someone who was willing to trust the man who saved Hyrule.

But not only that, Nate also given him a new hope in the kingdom he had saved. Not a week ago, Link truly believed that all of Hyrule detested him, that they didn't trust him. But here stood a man who disproved that idea completely; A man who did not detest him, but a man who trusted him.

Who's to say there aren't any more Nate's out there? Could it possibly be that he ran into the one and only person out that that could stand to be in his presence? As the chances of that are very slim, Link could not help but feel slightly motivated.

"Umm, hello?" Nate said, waving his hand in front of Link's unseeing eyes. "Did you hear me?"

Link shook his head and cleared his mind. "Yeah, sorry, just thinking…" Link muttered distractingly, before replying, "Yeah, sure, you're welcome to come with me if you would like." He did his best to hide the overwhelming delight in his voice that was practically leaping off his tongue.

"Thanks!" Nate replied excitedly. "It just, in being a wanderer, I don't get many opportunities to travel with other people."

And he understood Link's pain…

"I don't think my horse will be able to carry the two of us," Link said when he finally took notice that Nate didn't have a horse. "We'll have to walk. Is that alright?"

"Hey? I'm a wanderer, remember?" Nate said, smirking. "I think I know how to walk."

Though he didn't think it wasn't all that funny, Link couldn't help but laugh. Nate thought he was just laughing at his small attempt at humor, but it was really much deeper than that. Nate was the real deal.

Link was as giddy as the small children of Ordon were when they saw Link's wooden sword as he put Nate's few belongings on Epona's back next to his own. He latched them behind his own knapsack and spent more time than usual tightening the knots, just to make completely sure that they were secure.

While he was doing so, Nate reached out one of hands to pet Epona. Immediately, she reared up on two legs and neighed loudly before backing away a few steps. Luckily, Link had strapped everything in place beforehand; else, it would have been all over the ground.

"Oh, don't worry, she just gets shy." Link said, wrestling with her in an attempt to calm her down. It took much effort but soon, she was calm once more and lazily grazing in the grass.

In truth though, Link had never seen her do anything like that before. Normally, she was great with other people. Hell, she endured the various prods, pokes and other tortures the Ordon kids had put her through without complaint. Link didn't think much about it though, and just shrugged it off.

"Well, that's alright." Nate replied, his voice still a little shaken. "Ready? It'll be a long walk."

"As ready as I'll ever be." Link said, grinning for the first time in a while. Guiding Epona's reigns on his left side and with Nate at his right, Link walked across the Kakariko Bridge.

The rest of that day was nothing short of a miracle for Link. The two became close friends and the whole while, there was no devoid of small talk. Minutes stretched into hours without Link's noticing, everything seemed to speed up a bit with Nate around.

"So, what do you do, Link?" Nate asked as they walked up the small cliff towards the bridge connecting Kakariko Gorge with East Hyrule Field.

"Me? Well, up until a while ago, I was a farmer. But, recent events have forced me to, err… take a brief vacation." Link replied rather quickly.

"Gotten into trouble with the landlord, eh?" Nate replied, smirking. Link grinned sheepishly, so as to not reveal the secret of the real reason why he was wandering the plains.

"Yeah," Nate continued. "It's best to lay low when something like that happens. I would know. I have had many experiences of similar situations."

"Oh yeah?" Link grinned. "Like what?"

"Well, I wasn't always a wanderer. I used to be a very reputable chef in Castle Town." Nate explained.

"Why aren't you still?" Link asked curiously. In his opinion, it would be better to sleep on a bed and cook food all day than to live out in the wilderness.

"Well," Nate said regretfully. "I was ruined by the war. It caused the prices of basic ingredients to skyrocket. And nobody had any money to buy fancy food. So, I was stuck on the streets, trying to sell all this gourmet and lavish food for a mere blue rupee each, nothing compared to how much it cost to make it. I lost it all then."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Link said, regretting having brought up the topic.

"No, don't be. It wasn't your fault. But I guess you can call this wanderer thing my 'permanent' vacation." He smirked.

"So you're just giving up?"

"What else can I do?" Nate replied. "I'm flat out broke."

Not now, but maybe later, Link would tell him that he had plenty of money.

In the blink of an eye, or so it seemed, the two of them and Epona were entering East Hyrule Field. It was the biggest of the Hyrule fields, and in Link's opinion, the most beautiful. The light of the setting sun was reflecting in the many assorted ponds in the big field and the full, bright moon was just visible in the dimming light. They picked a good spot near the bridge to camp for the night, one which was away from the threats of goblins and other creatures who roamed the plains at night. Link pitched the tent while Nate went out and found some firewood and started a fire.

Soon the tent was set, the fire was blazing, and Epona was nourished in one of the nearby ponds. As much as he hated it, Link hunted for food that night and snagged a deer. His stash of Yeto's soup was running low and with no other source of food currently available, so he was forced to.

They both sat around the fire and waited as the meat roasted on the fire. Link had gained a lot of culinary experience after his trials with Midna, so when it was ready, he knew and took it off the fire. And in silence, the two of them feasted.

But even after eating, neither of the two were tired as of yet. Epona sure was; she was already fast asleep next to the tent.

"That's quite a sword you got there." Nate said, pointing at the sword which Link had taken off and laid on the ground when he had set up camp. "Any reason why you would need such an expensive-looking sword to journey the wilderness?"

Link shrugged. "I just want to always be prepared, you know?" He lied. It hurt to lie to Nate, he seemed like a trustworthy man. But there were a few secrets Link wouldn't let go of lightly. "You never know what you might run into."

"Yeah, but," Nate said, looking at the sword that still lay in its scabbard with awe. "It's so nice! It would be a shame if you were ever to foul it with the stains of blood."

Link smirked. "I only use the best."

"Mind if I take a look at it?" Nate asked.

Link shrugged. "Sure, go ahead."

Nate picked up the sword and, slowly but surely, pulled the Master Sword out of its scabbard. He was stricken at once by its beauty.

Sometime after he had defeated Ganondorf, the shining light that had before emitted from the sacred blade had disappeared. He wasn't sure when, but it was either right after he had struck down Ganondorf or when Midna had destroyed the link that had connected the Master Sword with the Twili's mythical Light. Either way, the Master Sword had reverted back to the way it was when Link had first pulled it out of the pedestal. But that did not make it any less grand.

The sword did still give off a faint gleam of scarlet, only seen to the observant eye. A faded dye of blood red still lingered, seared onto the sword by the victims who were unfortunate enough to have crossed paths with Link. Even with vigorous washing, the faint tinge still remained, now a part of the sacred blade itself.

But Nate either didn't notice or didn't care. He sat, mouth agape and eyes expressing wonder, with the sword lying in his outstretched hands. With a cautious and steady hand, as if he might ruin it with his touch, Nate stroked the sharp side of the sword with his finger, and then took a look at the damage. The sword had left a thin, fine line of blood. It was truly the handiwork of a skilled smith to make such a sharp, durable blade.

"Why, it's incredible, Link." Nate said, running a finger over the making in the hilt. "I've never seen a sword like it."

_'Probably because there is no other sword like it…' _Link thought and grinned to himself as Nate continued to thoroughly examine the sword.

"It shows signs of much use, but yet it holds the sharpest edge. How is that even possible?" Nate asked to himself in amazement as he turned the blade over in his hands again and again.

"Where did you get it?" Nate asked as he finally took his eyes of the blade and put it back in its scabbard.

"Oh, it was my father's." Link lied. "It has been passed down in my family for generations. The name of its creator has long been lost in the sands of time."

"Yeah, 'cause I was going to say, it looks antique." Nate added. "Do you know what it is made out of?"

"No, sorry, I do not." Link said with a frown. To him, what it was made of didn't much matter, as long as it worked.

"Oh, that's alright. Do you know how it was made? Was it just smelted like normal swords, or was it folded into layers as is done in the more durable swords? Or possibly some other way?"

Link gave him a blank stare. "Swords can be made in more than one way?" He asked, shocked.

Nate sighed, but smiled slightly.

"Sorry, I don't know much about sword making." Link said apologetically. "But you sure seem to. I thought you were a cook?"

"In profession, yes." Nate replied. "But my true fascination lay in swords. I had a huge collection of rare makes and interesting designs of swords. I had every type of sword you could possibly imagine; some brand new, some historic, some sharp, some blunt, some basic, some ornamented. Longswords, shortswords, rapiers, sabres, two-handed swords, scimitars, claymores, I had it all. But I had to sell most of them when I lost my money. And the rest are probably still in the house…"

"House?" Link's ears perked up. "I thought you said you were a drifter. You didn't say anything about a house?"

"Well, it all goes back to me losing my money." Nate replied, sighing. "At one point, I had lost my money, but I still had my house and everything in it. It was nothing to brag about, just a small two-room house that I rented out. I thought that if I sold some of my rarer swords, I might be able to scrape by."

He paused. "One day, I showed up at my doorstep and found my door locked and my key didn't work. As it turned out, my landlord had kicked me out onto the streets."

'Wow' was all Link could think as he stared into Nate's unseeing and unfeeling eyes. The hardships that this man had to go through were astonishing. This was a man who could comprehend the pain that Link had to go through, and perhaps even shrug it off as nothing compared to what he went through. Because this man was no ordinary man.

He was a sacrifice for society, just like Link. The pair of them had each gone through hell, and perhaps even more than that, for no good reason other than that they weren't cared for by society. And if society ever learned a lesson from the two of them, they would become martyr, sacrifices to better society.

His was another life destroyed by the war Ganondorf caused. It almost made Link want to bring Ganondorf back to life, just so he could kill him again.

"Hey, Link?"

Nate's voice woke Link up from his little "daydream." Link shook his head awake and looked over at Nate from across the small fire they had set up.

Nate continued. "Don't you think we should douse the fire? We wouldn't want to attract goblins."

Link looked around. The sun was almost completely gone by now. The two had chatted the light away, so much so that his jaw was actually hurting after months of lack of use. But with goblins being nocturnal by nature, it probably would be better if they headed off to bed soon.

"Yeah, I got a bucket of water right here." Link said. "But one question for you before we go to sleep. How do you do it? How do you get through all that suffering?"

Nate grinned sheepishly and said, "I try not to think about it."

* * *

><p>Link woke up the next morning to the sound of the early bird's chirp. Fresh sunlight was shining into the tent that he and Nate had shared and was beginning to reveal even the darkest corners. A sign of the good day to come.<p>

Link sat up and stretched quietly, but he soon noticed that Nate was not in the tent any longer. Link got out of his sleeping bag and curiously poked his head out of the tent's entrance.

It did not take long for him to find the missing one. Once again, Nate had fallen under the drawing, tempting, alluring radiance that was the Master Sword. The sword, once again unsheathed, was being thoroughly examined from every which angle by the increasingly possessed Nate, who seemed unable to keep his mind off of the priceless sword of evil's bane. With his back to Link and the tent, Nate was entranced by its beauty; so much so that he had not heard the snap of a twig Link stepped on getting out of the tent.

Grinning at Nate's lack of awareness, Link walked up right behind him and said, "She's a beauty, ain't she?"

Nate spun around from his spot on the ground abruptly to face Link. "Oh, err…Good morning, there, Link." Nate stammered. A slight tinge of a blush of scarlet crept up to his cheeks. "I…I'm sorry, Link. I just needed another look at it." Nate quickly thrust the sword back into its scabbard and put back on top of the Hylian Shield, which was lying at the foot of the tent.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Link said, turning away from Nate and beginning to pull the tent's supporting stakes out of the ground. "Take a look whenever you would like."

"Nah, I think I've had a long enough look." Nate replied, and then quickly changed the subject. "Are you hungry? It's not much, but I cooked a little breakfast." He indicated the small roast he had made with the leftovers from last night.

Link grinned. "Thanks but no thanks, Nate." He replied, packing up the tent as neatly as he could. "I'm not that hungry right now."

"Are you sure? It might not be a while until we can eat again."

"Yeah, I know. But I've never been a big eater in the morning. Epona might be happy to have some, though."

Epona was up and ready to go even before Link had gotten up. Link urged her over to the roast and offered her some. Epona bent down to sniff at it, but stuck her nose up at it.

Link grinned. "Well," he said. "She's never been much of a meat-eater."

"Well, I'll just leave it for the goblins, then." Nate replied. He grabbed a bucket of water that he had probably filled earlier that morning and dosed the flame below the roast. "Are you ready to get going?"

"Hold on, one second." Link finished strapping the folded tent to Epona's back, and once he made sure that the ties were strong enough, he said, "Yeah, let's get going."


	6. The Demonstration

**Chapter 6 – A Demonstration**

"Hey Link?"

Link stopped his march and turned to Nate, who had also come to a halt. They had been trudging through East Hyrule Field for most of the day now; at present, they were nearing what was left of the Bridge of Eldin and the late afternoon sun was glaring heated daggers down on their exposed flesh.

Nate was looking at him in a very peculiar way, and Link could not, try hard as he did, read his expression at all.

"Yeah?" Link said as he turned and began walking again.

Nate jogged to catch up again and then said quietly, "I was wondering...you know, that is a very nice sword of yours, I just...I-"

"Nate," Link said with a small grin. "If you don't untie that tongue, I'm gonna untie it for you."

"Well," Nate said tentatively. "Link, can you use it for me? I really want to see what it's like in combat. And I want to see you in combat because I think you know a bit more about it than you are letting on."

Link turned his head, looked at Nate's begging face and could not help but feel a little confused.

"You, erm..." Link said slowly. "You want to see me fight something?"

"Yeah." Nate replied, nodding his head fervently.

"But..." Link said, looking around the field. "I don't see anything living and moving around here, besides you, me and Epona. So unless this is your way of challenging me to duel, I can't."

"No, I know that." Nate replied, perhaps with a bit of disappointment. "But a tribe of goblins lives in the pass on the other side of the Bridge of Eldin. Would you be willing to do it there?"

"I don't know, Nate." Link said hesitantly. "I don't want to kill unless I am provoked, even then I don't really want to kill. Killing for the sake of entertainment…that is just something that I don't think I can do."

"I know it is a lot to ask, Link, but-"

Link turned to face Nate again. "Nate," He said quietly. "Have you no idea what it's like to take a life?"

"I…" Nate replied slowly. "I do."

Link was very taken aback by that answer. "You…huh?"

"Back before the all the strange stuff started happening, there was a troupe of us in Castle Town." Nate explained. "We would meet every once in a while and just duel, you know, for fun. We used fine swords too, for a more realistic effect. It was all done in a controlled setting, no one ever got killed. We all wore overly elaborate armor, and we all struck to disarm only, nobody aimed to kill. But…there was this one time; it was just an accident…"

Link remained silent as Nate's voice trailed off and his eyes became unfocused and began to gloss over. He stared far off into the distance of Hyrule Field, lost in some deep memory.

After a moment, Link replied, "I have killed much more than my share of lives on this land. Mostly goblins and such, but does that make it any less wrong? If it were, why does the face of everything I have ever killed still haunt my sleep? Why do I still hear every scream of agony ringing in my ears at every second of every day? Every morning, I try to justify it by saying that it had to be done; it was either kill or get killed. But where does it end?"

Nate slowly came out of his trance. "I never meant to do it. His armor was strapped on too loose, and it slipped off as I made my strike. I can still see his pleading eyes as his life slowly slipped away…"

Link could not help but feel a considerable amount of pity towards Nate. To kill in defense is one thing, but an accident? The guilt in that must be something that Link couldn't even imagine. "Then you know as well as I the gravity of what you are asking of me." Link said definitively.

"Link," Nate said quietly. "I feel your pain, I really do, and I know that this is a lot to ask of you. I am not asking you to kill; no person can honestly expect that of another man. Just find something you can duel. Show me your skill, and the skill of your blade."

Link sighed. "Nate, I gave up that life a long time ago."

"Then bring it back just once." Nate said with determination. "For me."

"I don't know." Link said sheepishly. "If we run into a goblin and he attacks, then perhaps. I'll have to think about it."

* * *

><p>The next morning, the two of them and Epona woke from their slumber at the base of the Bridge of Eldin. Despite the fact that the repair work Midna had done on it was quite hasty, the bridge looked very nice. There was usually a noticeable clash between man and nature in such elaborate structures, but not in this one. The bridge actually looked as if it was meant to be there, as if the scene would not be complete without this miracle of man.<p>

Link and Nate set off early that day without having had breakfast, and Epona only got an apple that was starting to go bad in Link's pack. Food was a necessity to be desired where they were heading, it was best to be sure they had enough in the days to come rather than waste it all in one day and leave themselves in the mercy of the goddesses.

The three of them crossed the bridge in near silence; the only noise came from Epona's hooves as they _clack_-ed lightly against the cold stone of the bridge below. Link was still in deep thought about what had been said last night and he was also sure that, if he asked, Nate would claim the same thing.

The goblins who once patrolled the bridge were long gone by now. Since the fall of Ganondorf, more and more people have come out of hiding and were traveling all over Hyrule again. As a result, the mountain pass, which had been all but deserted by man, was now used more and more frequently. The goblins realized this and many of them went back into hiding deep in the mountains.

Once they had finally crossed the serene, albeit dangerous, bridge, Link stopped and turned to Nate.

"Two days, at least, it will take to make it through this pass." He said grimly. "Ready?"

"Definitely." Nate replied quietly. "As long as you have thought more about what I said."

Link frowned. He had been hoping Nate would drop the matter entirely after all that was said. He was about to open his mouth the respond, but something in the distance caught his eye and made him catch his breath.

The goddesses have a funny way of responding to their people's prayers. Sometimes they grant the most heartfelt desire, sometimes they completely ignore it. But in Link's case, they did neither; they gave him the complete opposite of what he had asked them for.

There, standing at the entrance to the mountain pass, was a lone goblin archer. Wearing as dim-witted an expression that you would expect from a goblin, this particular goblin seemed to take pride in the fact that it was wearing three chicken feathers and a squirrel hide on his head. And though Link and Nate had taken no precautions and made no effort to hide themselves and render themselves quiet, the goblin still didn't notice them when they were only ten feet away.

"I'm not going to force you to do it, Link." Nate whispered as he eyed the goblin lazily grazing through the rocky outcrop. "But if you are, now is the time."

Link was never given a chance to respond. The goblin had heard Nate (Link assumed that Nate wanted him to hear, to grab his attention) and was now staring down the two of them, just as they were to him.

It was something that he hoped never to do again. Take up a blade in opposition of an enemy. After experiencing quite enough swordplay for a lifetime in his quest to bring down Ganondorf, he was quite ready to put down his sword for good. Of course, he trained diligently still, even to this day, but this was very different.

To once again engage in combat, it was something to avoid. Fighting just started a wildfire of chaos and destruction, and Hyrule had just recently put out that flame. There was no need to set fire again that which is already charred.

But he was given no choice.

The goblin made the first move. He began to latch an arrow onto his bow and was taking aim while Link was still standing there, deliberating what to do.

With a slight _swish_, the goblin let go of the arrow and it came speeding his way. But Link was ready for it. Just as the goblin let go of the arrow, Link jumped into stride. Quick as lightning, he unlatched the Hylian Shield from his back and used it to shrug off the arrow without much effort, and the arrow fell harmlessly to the ground. He continued in stride and was on top of the goblin before he was even close to getting another arrow ready to fire.

The goblin stood no chance against the terrible might of a great sword wielded by a great swordsman. He held his feeble bow in one hand and a rock tipped arrow in the other, but he did not get a chance to fire again. The Master Sword, glimmering off a strong reflection of the sun's rays from its clean and metallic shaft, was raised in anticipation over the young goblin's head. A strong sense of fear, one which was not common of goblins, flashed across his face, however brief, as he saw the divine slash of a noble sword aimed right for him. In a combination of terrible beauty and righteous dishonor, the sword planted itself in the goblin's shoulder, and farther still, until it lay directly over a heart which beat no longer.

Removing the sword with a simple tug, Link watched in both horror and pride as the lifeless form of the goblin fell to the ground, now subject to the whims of Nature.

All life, the squirrels, birds, and little critters that made their homes in the ground, nearby the scene stopped to watch the awesome spectacle. In awe, they looked on, and in fear, they cringed. The Master Sword, now tainted by drops of evil, radiated a new quality, a quality which required reverence. All life worshipped the sword because it was more powerful than they could ever hope to be.

And yet, it still was held in the hand of Link, untarnished and not vengeful in the slightest. Now tainted on the exterior, the Master Sword still emitted an unmistakable aura of good and justice; the true Blade of Evil's Bane.

The stench of the aftermath, emanating from the unmoving corpse discarded on the ground, rose into the air and filled the nearby landscape. The breeze, a commonly found messenger capable of efficiency unknown of by humans, brought the news of the power wielded by the Master Sword to Hyrule.

The solemn trees of old, yearning for more knowledge to prosper on their age-withered bark, stuck their branches out in desperation. The rocks, motionless forces of nature and of coercion, watched with a blank stare, silently applauding a man for his abilities. Why, even the water, flowing down a nearby stream, ran from the area, in cowardice of the power that a man can wield in a single blade.

The ancient scholars of primeval generations could never have predicted such devastation. Yet, it happened, proof of it lay of Nate's genuinely shocked expression and his air of wonder about him.

"That…" Nate muttered quietly. "That was amazing…"

To Link, it was a simple slash that had been powerful enough to take down a weak goblin. In reality, though, it was much more than that. The power of not only Link's strength, not only the Master Sword's strength, but also the power of the Hyrulian race was manifested into that strike.

Everything is expected to have a summit. Everything is supposed to have a point where it can grow no more. But Link, accompanied with the Master Sword and in the great nation of Hyrule, had no zenith. He could grow more and more powerful every single day, and that was the scary part.

Using a spare rag that he always brought around with him on Epona's back, Link cleaned the stains of imperfection and evil off of his sword and put it back into its sheath on his back.

Grabbing the reins of his beloved horse once more, Link turned around, expecting to see Nate right behind. But Nate was still rooted to the spot, back where he had been previously as he watched the astonishing flow of events.

"Are you coming?"

Still Nate stood his ground. He did call back though, "Link…Where did you learn to do that?"

Link shrugged. "Experience, I guess." He replied. "Now can we go?"

Nate took one final glance at the goblin's unmoving body, and then jogged to catch up with Link as they continued into the mountain pass. "Who taught you to wield a blade like that?" He asked.

Link hesitated slightly. Somehow, he knew that Nate would find it hard to believe if he told him that he was taught by the living corpse of a former hero of Hyrule in a separate dimension. Instead, he shrugged lightly and replied, "I taught myself."

"But…" Nate said doubtfully. "Your form…it's flawless! You really learned how to do that on your own?"

"Nate, can we just drop it?" Link said impatiently. "Please?"

For a moment or two, the walked in silence. Soon, though, Nate cleared his throat and said, "Hey Link?"

Link turned to look at Nate while he kept walking. His face this time was quite easy to read. He was still stunned over what just happened, but his eyes were full of awe and wonder.

"Thanks." Nate said finally.

Link sighed deeply and looked ahead down the pass again. "No problem." He said lightly.

* * *

><p>The rest of that day, and the entirety of the next day, went relatively uneventful for the pair and Epona. They got through the winding paths surrounded by rock without much harm or exposure to danger. They had not passed a single goblin in the heavily goblin-infested crevices and caves. Perhaps they had seen Link's run-in with the other goblin, or maybe they just detected an air about him; either way, they were not seen at all in those two days.<p>

On the night of the second day, though, the two had made it to the base of the mountain leading to the Zora's Domain. It was a beautiful sight, seeing the grand waterfall in the background. Link passed a number of familiar and happy sights on his trek to the pinnacle, where the Zora's Domain was at. They passed the fishing hole and the bomb arrow river game, though Link had forgotten what they were actually named and who actually ran the places, it had been so long.

The afternoon of the third day after crossing the Bridge of Eldin found Link, Nate and Epona at the foot of the majestic waterfall home to many Zora. It had, in no sense, lost any of its formal royalty or elegant beauty he had come to expect of it in his brief, frequent visits to the place. It was always a beautiful sight, to see the picaresque reflection of the sky above him in the water below him. The river was, for the most past, flat, making the view all that more realistic.

Getting to this pretty landscape, though, was quite a challenge. He had to enter from the high road, as he could not get to the throne room from the base of the waterfall now, without Midna. And they did not, in any way, get a warm reception from the Zora Guards. Though they could not deny them entrance, as they were not provoked, the guards obviously recognized him and passed him a cold shoulder as he passed many of them by.

From the well-designed hallway in the mountain, they continued on.

"Hey, Link." Nate started. "What are you going to do here?"

"I've got a friend here," Link replied. "And I figured it was time to pay him a visit."

"Really?" asked Nate doubtfully. A nearby Zora was looking at Link suspiciously, but he quickly turned his head away when he noticed Nate watching him. "Not to sound mean or anything, Link, but it seems to me that you don't have any friends here."

"Not many, no." Link admitted. "But I do have one. Come on, just a little farther."

After finding somewhere to tie Epona down, as a horse would not be welcomed in a throne room, Link led Nate up the two sets of stairs and out on top of the waterfall. They went against the flow of the river, into the source and into the throne room.

"Halt." A guard stopped them before they actually got in the room that was basically a big pool of water. "State your name and business."

"Link, and I'm here to see the prince."

"And him?" The guard asked, pointing at Nate.

"Nate, and obviously, he has the same business as me."

"To see the prince?"

"Yes." Link replied impatiently.

"Hmm, well sorry, sirs," The guard replied unemotionally. "But the prince is accepting no visitors at the moment."

Link sighed. "Look, just tell him that Link is here to see him. He'll let us in."

The guard squinted, eying Link distrustfully. He quietly called another guard and whispered in his ear, clearly telling him to go ask the prince whether to admit them or not.

While the other guard scurried off, the first guard continued to stare daggers at Link.

In the meantime, however, Link waited. Nate, though, still stood shocked over what he had just heard. "Link, you never told me you knew the Zora Prince!" Nate said, clearly shocked, and perhaps a bit jealous.

"Oh, yeah, me and Ralis go back." Link replied. "I know the Goron chieftain as well."

"No way!"

"Yep." Link replied, grinning. "I've got good contacts."

"No kidding." Nate smirked. "What other secrets does Link hold?" He asked rhetorically.

What Nate didn't know was that Link did hold more secrets. Many more secrets. But, maybe, that would be saved for a conversation of a later day.

The second guard returned and whispered something in the first's ear. The first then turned back to Link. "Alright, you may enter." The guard said skeptically. "But just remember, you got about ten guards watching you right now. Any funny business at all and you will be kicked out immediately."

The guard stepped aside to admit them access, and Link and Nate passed him by wearily, half expecting the guard to shoo them away.

The small room, for the most part, was almost exactly the same as it was when Link was last here, almost four months ago. Except for minor shifts in furniture and the major increase in the number of guards, it was just as he remembered it.

Link saw Ralis, looking very bored, sitting on his throne chair at the apex of the Zora's Domain. His face instantly lit up, though, when he saw Link striding toward him.

"Link!" The young Zora prince exclaimed when Link and Nate had reached his throne. "Good to see you again!"

Link firmly shook the prince's hand and replied, "How are you doing, Ralis? It's been a while."

Ralis smirked. "That's an understatement." Though he was still young, Ralis had become a quick leader to his people. A few years younger than Link even, Ralis has been able to keep the Zora tribe in high regard.

"This is Nate." Link said, introducing his red-haired friend. "I met him a few days ago, and we've been traveling together since."

"Nice to meet you, Nate." Ralis said, exchanging pleasantries with Nate. "You two must stay for dinner!"

"Actually, Ralis, we were kind of hoping you'd let us stay here a couple of days." Link replied. "That is, if you have room for us."

"Certainly!" Ralis said joyously. "We always have room for visitors! Follow me, I show you to a guest room we have open.

Ralis lead them to the very back of the room, directly behind the throne, where he opened a door Link had not taken notice of at all when he had passed the spot with Midna many times. It was a door made out of stone that blended in so well with the stone around it that it was hard distinguish. It led into a grand dining hall, with many more doors branching off in different directions. Ralis led them down to the only door of the east wall. It was a small hallway, and Ralis brought them down that, and on the second door on the right, he stopped.

"Here's your room." He said. "It has two beds and a bathroom, so I'm sure you'll like it. I'll have dinner served in an hour, that alright to you?"

"That's great." Link replied.

"Alright, I'll let you get settle in then. I'll see you in an hour."

Ralis then turned and vanished, out of sight beyond the door back into the dining room. Shifting the small knapsack he carried on his shoulder, Link open the door that Ralis had indicated and walked in, with Nate right behind him.

Link threw his sack onto the bed to the left, while Nate crashed onto the bed on the right, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"He seems like a good man." Nate said eventually, after moments of speechlessness.

"Ralis? Yeah, he is."

"How do you know him?"

"Well, you know," Link replied. "I did quite a bit of adventuring, even in this area. And as fortune would have it, I helped out the prince in his time of need."

"Really? What did you do?"

"Well, he was going through a tough emotional time. His mother had just been killed by Ganondorf and his minions, and Ralis was devastated. I consoled him and got him back on his feet."

"Interesting." Nate replied. "He seems to have blossomed from that experience. It looks to me that he is a great leader."

"Yeah, he gets that from his mother, Queen Rutela. Rutela was perhaps the greatest ruler that the Zora's have ever seen."

"He's so young, too, though." Nate added. "I can't believe how much he has embraced this governing role."

"Yeah." Link replied. "But we really should start getting ready for dinner. We don't want to keep out prince waiting."

"You're right." Nate said with a grin. "I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower right now. I stink."


	7. Undesired Revelations

**Chapter 7 – Undesired Revelations**

While Nate went into the bathroom to clean up a bit, Link quickly left the room. In truth, he needed a nice long shower as well, especially going into the presence of a prince, but there was something more important than petty hygiene that he needed to take care of. Surely his cover would be blown unless Ralis was informed. The prince wouldn't like it, Link was sure, but it had to be done.

He walked briskly through the hallway back into the dining and found Ralis sitting at the grand table's head, with the places set on each side of him. Ralis beamed at him as he found his way to Ralis' opposite side, so that Link would see when Nate entered the room.

The dining room truly was, in every sense of the term, majestic. It was carved into the inside of a mountain, and the walls gave off a dull blue glow. That being said, it was very difficult to find such a section of wall. The walls were adorned aplenty with bright blue tapestries, decorative statues of past Zora kings and queens, and other extravagancies of great value. The main attraction, constituting almost the entire back wall, was a light blue tapestry embroidered with a single, large, dark blue trident, which Link took to be the symbol of the Zora race.

The dinner table was just as elegant, if not then more so, than many of the statues in the room. It was of light blue color, lighter in color than anything else in the room. That, combined with the numerous eccentric "icicles" that hung from the side, gave the table an icy effect. The table itself could easily hold as many as thirty people, but just two chairs were filled at the moment, with a third vacant but ready to be filled.

"So, what brings the Hero of Hyrule to my humble kingdom?" Ralis asked happily, a look of genuine interest plastered on his face, as Link took his spot at the table.

Against his best wishes, Link ignored the question. He instead said grimly in an undertone, "Ralis, Nate must not know who I am."

Ralis' genuine smile suddenly morphed into a slight frown. "W-what?" He asked, with quite a bit of confusion in his voice. "What do you mean?"

"Long story, but Nate does not know anything about me." Link muttered under his breath. "And it has to stay that way."

"But…" Ralis said slowly. "What does that mean?"

"He knows me by Link." Link replied. "He does not know I am _the _Link."

"You mean…" Ralis said quietly. "You never told him that you are the Hero? That you saved Hyrule from certain doom not even five months ago? Link, why wouldn't you tell him?"

"Shh!" Link said in a hushed whisper when Ralis' voice started to rise. He took a cautious glance down the hallway that led to the room Nate was in, and after he concluded Nate was nowhere to be seen, he continued quietly, "Ralis, you have no idea what it's like for me anymore. I've been completely rejected by everyone in this kingdom; hell, look at your guards! They don't trust me one bit, nor does just about everyone else I can think of. Please Ralis, spare me Nate."

Ralis frowned. "Alright, but this is the wrong way to go about it. You gotta tell him sometime."

"Yeah, I-"

But Link stopped short at that moment for Nate had just emerged from the hallway and sat himself opposite Link, on Ralis' left. His hair was still dripping wet and by all accounts, he seemed a bit rushed.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Nate said hurriedly as he took his spot across from Link. "If I had known that you wanted to start this early, I wouldn't have taken so long."

"Oh no we don't mind, Link and I were just enjoying the pleasant chat that had been denied between us for the past several months." Ralis said with a smile. He cleared his throat and looked between them. "Well, now that we are all here, we can begin!" He exclaimed. "So, Link, what brings you here?"

"Oh, the usual, you know me, Ralis." Link replied with a light smile. "Just, this time, as you can see, I have a little bit of company."

"Yes, yes, I see that." Ralis said enthusiastically. "So Nate, how did the two of you come to meet each other anyway? The wanderer's lifestyle is often a lonely one, which is why I am quite surprised to see Link come here with company."

Nate beamed. "Coincidence, I suppose. Pleasant coincidence."

"Yep," Link added. "I was just leaving Castle Town and happened to run into Nate while I was deciding where to go next. We took it in stride and, well, here we are. Boy, but when I first saw him, though, I wasn't too sure."

"I thought he was about to cleave my head off when we first met." Nate said with a grin.

"Yeah," Ralis said with a laugh. "You'd be a fool to try to cross Link here; his combat skills are scary good."

"I've seen, I know." Nate said with a frown, causing the three of them to burst out into laughter.

The three calmed down just in time for the chefs to bring out the food. Plates upon plates of food were placed onto the table. And though they were different, they all shared a common theme. Every last one of the dishes contained at least some fish on it.

Never before had Link known what a Zora eats, nor did he ever really try to figure it out. Now that he found it out, he thought it quite strange that a fish-man would eat fish. He soon simply shrugged it off and reached for a plate that had been laid down on the table. Not the Reekfish plate, which was the closest, but for a Hylian Bass. Link was normally open-minded when it came to foods, but Reekfish was one food he didn't have a mind to try.

The bass, just a plain fillet with a few seasonings on top, was grilled to perfection. Never before had Link had such a tasteful bass, disregarding the fact that he rarely did have bass. Though, to be perfectly honest, Link had expected this. It was hard not to have such high expectations, seeing as the head chefs were making fish, and they themselves were fish-people.

Nevertheless, it took Link maybe ten minutes to gulp down an entire bass, save the bones. In fact, had it not been for the bones, one may have thought that it was a clean plate. If you held it up to your face, you would be able to see your reflection, it was so spotless.

Nate and Ralis finished up their dinners not long thereafter, both equally concerned about their food and not about any table conversation. After a quick fifteen minutes after the table had been set, the chefs were back to take the dirty dishes away.

"So, Ralis." Link said as he used a napkin to clean his hands. "I've got a question for you. Have you gotten a letter from the princess lately?"

Ralis frowned slightly. "No, I haven't heard from Zelda not for months. Why, should I have?"

"Well, you'll be getting one soon, I suspect." Link replied. "I was just there, and some big news just erupted from the center of the kingdom."

"What happened?" Ralis replied quizzically.

"Yeah, what news, Link?" Nate added, with an equally confused expression.

Link smirked lightly. "I don't want to ruin the surprise for you." He said quietly. "It can't be long now, I doubt Nate and I could have been much faster than the Royal Messenger."

"Gee, sounds urgent." Ralis said with a frown. "Is it bad?"

"It's…" Link paused. "It's unsettling to say the least. And please, for my sake, don't believe every word that is said. But I'll let you be the judge when you get the news yourself. Anyway, forget I mentioned it. That dinner was excellent, Ralis, I wish I could eat like that every day."

Ralis continued to stare at Link quizzically for a moment longer before he said with a grin, "Well, like I always say, you're welcome anytime."

"Yeah, wow, that was great, Ralis." Nate said as he placed his used napkin back down on the table. "I haven't eaten like that in a long time."

"How does it compare, Nate?" Link asked. "Nate used to be a cook, you know, Ralis. So how does it compare, could you cook like this?"

"Well," Nate said slowly. "To be perfectly honest, I never cooked fish before. I usually did cakes and stuff. But even with that aside, I doubt I could cook anything like this, I am so out of practice. My life as a cook ended a long time ago, and so did all my talents."

Link frowned. "Well, in your prime, I bet you could cook like this. Anyway, Ralis-"

Link was getting ready to announce his departure to the bedroom for the night but at that moment, the doors to the dining room from the throne room opened. A young, thin boy who Link instantly recognized to be a Royal Messenger entered the room and shut the door behind him. His clothing, pure white with dashes of pure gold here and there, was instantly recognizable to Link.

The little messenger ran up to Ralis where he sat at the dining table. "Sire?" The boy said quietly in a trembling voice. "I've got a letter for you."

The young man reached towards his bag, which was strapped at his shoulder and dangled to his waist, and reached in. It took him a moment of searching to find the letter, and when he finally found it, he gave it to Ralis.

"Thank you, kind sir." Ralis said imperially, taking the letter from the messenger's hand. The messenger bowed ever so slightly before leaving the room quietly.

Ralis took one look at the envelope and grinned ear to ear. "Hey, Link, I think I got the letter!" He flashed the letter's addresser as proof.

Link looked and, sure enough, it seemed to be the letter that Link was expecting Ralis to receive. It was not what was written on the front, but rather how it was written, that gave away its cover. The name, "Prince Ralis", was written in exquisite cursive handwriting, one of Zelda's distinguishing characteristics.

"Well, go ahead." Link said sheepishly. "Read it."

Ralis slipped the parchment, which was festooned with periodic painted roses, out of the cover of the envelope.

_"Dearest Prince Ralis," _Ralis, to Link's horror, read aloud. _"It is in my sincerest regret to inform you that, in my inability to abide by the long-standing traditions of the marvelous nation of Hyrule, I have done wrong by you and the entirety of my loyal citizens. You, as a prince yourself, know of the governing of a worldly kingdom as well as I, I am sure, if not better. But you are many times the monarch than I am. Please do not hate me as much as I hate myself as I tell you that, in nine months' time, Hyrule will have a new prince…"_

Link, mouth agape to match Ralis' expression, was stunned. Zelda, in writing this letter, had effectively made her sin seem ten times worse.

Link knew that Ralis hadn't finished reading, Zelda tended to ramble in her letters, but just that short exert alone had shed enough light on the severity of the situation, a severity of which Link hadn't even considered.

Ralis quickly finished reading the letter, thankfully not out loud this time, while Link collected his thoughts. When Ralis finished, he put the letter down on the table and, clearly moved by the princess' writing, asked, "Did you?"

"Did I what?" Link asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Is it your son she's carrying?" He asked, curious, and perhaps a bit angry?

"N-no!" Link stammered. "I told you, don't believe everything you are told!"

"Alright, I believe you." Ralis said, which relieved Link greatly. "But one question, though, why is she telling me that it was you?"

"Well, er… It is kinda a long story, but basically, I'm taking the fall for her."

Though, with that letter, she may well have stabbed herself in the back…

"You alright there, Nate?" Ralis asked, looking over at the red-haired man.

"Yeah, Nate, you've been awfully quiet over there." Link added. To both questions, Nate simply stared back blankly, unresponsively.

Somewhere inside Nate, a spark had been lit.

* * *

><p>Later on that night, after Nate had awaken from his dream-like coma state, which turned out to just be a "thinking session" (as he called it), Link and Nate finally went back to their rooms. They had countless conversations with Ralis, which did eventually did sway from the whole conversation regarding Zelda, after dinner. But it was beginning to get late, and Link never did like to go to bed at too late an hour, even when under the protection of walls.<p>

Link immediately jumped under the warmth of his sheets, but Nate did not. Instead, he sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his feet.

"Are you alright, Nate?"

Nate nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm just thinking, that's all."

"Aw, come on, you gave me that crap at dinner." Link smirked. "Are you going to tell me what about, or should I just save my breath and go to sleep now?"

"Well, I don't know why you would save breath, but…" Nate grinned slightly. "Yeah, I'd probably just go to bed now. Sorry, it's nothing against you, it is just that this is…personal."

"Oh, no, don't apologize, it's alright. I understand." Link snuggled into his sheets and closed his eyes. "Don't stay up too late. I think we are going to have a lot of fun the next couple of days."

* * *

><p>It was one of the hardest things she had ever done, degrading him like that. Not only once, but twice! Zelda looked herself in the mirror on her mantle, expecting to see herself, but in reality, seeing nothing. Nothing but a fade outline, thin and grotesque, of the one once known as a glorious princess. Here she stood, the real Zelda, hidden somewhere in the shadow of the ideal princess.<p>

She had actually surprised herself, while writing that hypocritical piece of literature. As painful as it was, she did not feel regret throughout the writing of it. And the four reprints after that. Five copies, one for Ordon, one for Kakariko, one for Death Mountain, one for Zora's Domain, and one for the Castle Town Address, which was scheduled for tomorrow. She felt remorse, but not regret.

She struggled through it, not a single tear, but as soon as she gave them to her messengers, in passing the burden, she let her emotions run vapid.

It was, in this respect, that a knock on her shut door sounded through the room.

She immediately did what she could to cease her weeping and peered suspiciously at the door. She wasn't expecting anybody. Not wanting to have anybody see her in this dreadful state, she quickly tidied herself up and made it seem as if all was fine for the internally-wrought princess. She answered the door with as much dignity as she could muster.

A thin, middle-aged man clad only in red stood on the other side. "A letter for you, Your Majesty." The postman said.

Zelda took the letter uneasily, wondering if it was even possible for any of the provinces to have even received the letter, let alone respond to it.

The postman bowed and quickly left, without a word from Zelda.

Once again in isolation within her room, Zelda peered at the letter curiously. The handwriting was not recognizable to her, but somehow, it seemed familiar.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the letter. Without even taking a glance at the body of the letter, her eyes darted for the signature at the bottom.

It was from Aaron.

* * *

><p>Link walked down to the dining room for breakfast bright and early the next morning, as did Ralis. The icy dining table from last night had since disappeared from the room. In its place was a large buffet table, surrounded by many circular, eating tables. The food wasn't much different from last night. The only exception was the lack of strong, evening spices on the fish.<p>

After grabbing a dish and sitting next to Ralis at one of the tables, Link was about to ask him if he ever got sick of fish. But he quickly held that question on his tongue, for Ralis attacked the food with much the same enthusiasm as last night, while Link was forced to stare at his food and long for something different.

Nate did not come out until even Link had finished his food. He looked sluggish and unseeing, leading Link to believe that he did not heed his advice of going to bed early. He didn't even grab a plate for himself. He just simply sat down next to Link, yawned, and said, "Good morning."

"Late night?" Ralis asked, grinning.

"Yep." Nate replied simply, putting his elbow on the table and resting his head on that arm.

"Well, it's like I said last night." Link said, a little crestfallen. "We have a lot planned today. But, if you don't feel up to it…"

"No, no, I'm fine!" Nate hastily replied. "Just give me a minute."

"So, Ralis," Link stated, as he let Nate rest for a few minutes longer. "What exactly are we doing today?"

"I figured that we'd do a little bit of exploring. I thought I would show you a few fun spots around here."

"Sounds good." Link paused. Link wasn't sure if Ralis knew that Link already knew everything nook and cranny that Zora's Domain has to offer, but in case he didn't, Link played along. "Ready yet, Nate?"

Nate yawned audibly and replied, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

* * *

><p>The day was spent by the three friends exploring the beautiful lands surrounding the Zora's Domain. As it turned out, many of the fun spots Ralis had been talking about, Link had already been to on his adventure with Midna. Though, of course, he didn't tell Ralis this.<p>

Of all the places Ralis had taken them, Link's favorite was the landing underneath the waterfall. During his adventures, he never realized the beauty that was to be found there. The shade in this wondrous alcove, combined with the refracting light in the waterfall created an eerie, cerebral effect. The refracted light perfectly lit up some of the shade, but didn't even touch most of it.

Ralis deliberately saved this part for last. The glaring light of a setting sun always created the greatest array of light.

"Awe-inspiring, isn't it?" Ralis said proudly.

In one word, that was how Link would describe it. The harmonious noise emitted from the waterfall, the cool temperature under the shade, the slightly palled hue of light in the waning hours of the day…

All in all, a perfect end to a great day.

Not long after that, the three were back up in the Zora's throne room. From there, they entered back into the dining room to find that dinner was there, waiting for them on a buffet table.

"You don't forget a thing, do you?" Link smirking, reaching for a plate of filleted bass. He was so hungry that he forgot that he had already had bass the past two meals.

Ralis grinned. "For that I thank you, Link. Had you not defeated Ganondorf and shown me the making of a true hero, I would not have taken after you."

As much as Link waved his arms frantically and mouthed for Ralis to stop talking, the sentence still came out.

And Nate hadn't missed a word of it.


	8. Shrouded Intentions

**Chapter 8 – Shrouded Intentions**

"Wait…what?" Nate asked slowly.

Nate peered over at Link with, not so much shock, but more suspicion, and maybe even distrust. It was as if he had always expected that Link held some sort of secret, but was not ready to accept such a fact. His eyes, normally so warm and welcoming, were narrowed and cold, and wanted answers. Nate glanced over at Ralis for good measure, as if to gain some sort of clue, before glaring his attention back at Link.

Link, his secret exposed, could not find a suitable answer for the one he had once called his friend. He had completely taken advantage of Nate, he knew that. But was it worth it? The past week or so of being a normal person had been one of the best weeks in the young hero's life since the rise of Ganondorf. Not since before his adventures did Link feel more accepted than he did in his few weeks with Nate. As hard as this awkward situation was to swallow, he had to admit that it was a small price to pay for what he was able to gain; a fact which caused him to seriously doubt his own selfless nature.

Ralis looked utterly lost as he diverted his attention between the two at sporadic intervals. It took a few moments of thought before he remembered the warning that Link had given him a few days earlier. Ralis sighed quietly and held his head low in shame like a dog caught in the act. Link's greatest secret was now revealed to the one person that Link tried to hide it from.

Link was at a complete loss for words for an extended amount of time. The truth was out now, there was no going back. Of course, Link had decided from the start that he would have to tell Nate at some point in time. It would just be unfair to Nate to hide a secret as important as that away from a true friend for even one second. But he never meant for the word to get out like this. Sometimes _how_ things are said is much more important than _what_ is actually said.

"Ralis," He said finally with a small, insignificant voice. "We'll see you in the morning. I need to discuss some things with Nate."

"Oh, err…" Ralis stuttered embarrassedly. "Alright, then, good-night." Inwardly, he was relieved to get away from the awkward situation.

Nate, without the slightest glance at Link or Ralis, got up once Link had said that. Without bothering to push his chair in or bearing any manners in mind, he walked quietly and deliberately toward his and Link's room. Link, after sheepishly returning the good-night to Ralis, followed Nate's tail.

As expected, Nate was inside, sitting on his bed, waiting for Link's arrival. For the slightest fraction of a second, the two locked eyes, before Link couldn't bear to look into his hurt eyes any longer and had to look away. When he stared into Nate's eyes, it felt to Link as if he were staring into the soul of the man he had just betrayed. It was much easier to hurt Ganondorf than it was to hurt a friend like Nate.

Once Link turned away, Nate said harshly, "Well? Care telling me that was about?" His voice was piercing and his tongue was as sharp as the finest blade Hyrule had to offer.

Link grimaced and could not answer that right away. "Nate, it is not what you think." Link replied calmly after a few seconds of miserable thought, taking a seat on his own bed.

"No?" Nate replied sarcastically. "I think it is pretty damn obvious that you were hiding something from me. But hey, I don't judge unjustly. Let me hear your pathetic excuse; then I'll judge."

"I'm sorry, Nate." Link said quietly. "I…well, we all have our secrets…"

"Oh, yeah." Nate said with a voice heavy with sarcasm. "Hey, Link, I forgot to tell you, I'm the long-lost, estranged brother of Princess Zelda, heir to the Hyrule throne."

"It's true, alright!" Link nearly hollered. Rage felt like the only way for Link to release his pent-up sorrow. "What do you want me to tell you? That I am the man that you wanted me to be? Well, if I said that, I would be a liar. It's true; I am Link, savior of Hyrule. I was the liberator of the captives in the twilight. I awoke the four Light Spirits from their slumber in the Twilight Realm. I wield the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane. I defeated Zant and Ganondorf, thus ending their reins of tyranny. I am the damn Hero of Twilight!"

"Yeah, I got that far!" Nate retorted. "Perhaps you can tell me why it was that you held off from telling me?"

"Why?" Link answered quietly. "Because I don't want to be the Hero. I don't want to go down in history for courageous acts of any kind. I just want to be a regular person. I want to be like you. People envy me for my power; well, I envy them more than they envy me. "

After a minute passed and still Link heard no answer, he chanced a look over at Nate. His fiery demeanor had passed away somewhat. It was replaced instead by a look of remorse and perhaps even pity. He was still sitting at the edge of his bed with his eyes now directed out the lone window that their room had to offer. He was deep in thought, but Link did not have the slightest idea as to what he was thinking about.

Link continued. "Nate, you have no idea what it is like to be a hero. If you knew, you wouldn't be mad. Take a guess at what happened after Ganondorf had been slain. Go on, take a stab at it."

"Um… I really don't…"

"Think back to when we first got to the Zora's Domain, Nate. Remember the guards?"

This remark, at first, drew a blank stare for Nate, but after a moment, realization washed over him as he remember the whole ordeal Link had to go through with the guards.

"What…?"

"The people pushed me out into the streets. They ran me dry and, and with no further use of me, threw me away. You were the first person to talk to me in months, other than a few loyal friends. Any hope I had of rejoining society vanished many months ago. In saving society, I destroyed my place in it."

"But…but why would they do that?"

"I don't know." Link replied somberly. "Fear, I suspect. They thought that I would be like a new Ganondorf, except even more powerful."

"But…that's crazy! Who would ever think you would do that?"

"Nate," Link said, smiling sympathetically. "Not every Hylian knows me as you do. All they do know is that I am more powerful than Ganondorf ever was, and that, if I tried to take over, I could do it even more easily than Ganondorf did."

Nate's eyes began to water over. "Link, I'm sorry. I…I'm sorry, I just overreacted to something not important."

"No, it was very important." Link replied remorsefully. "I'm sorry; I should have told you sooner."

Nate looked up and smiled lightly. "It's alright."

Link smiled. That could have gone much, much worse. He had come very close to losing one of the only friends he had.

"You know, I was starting to think that you were the Hero." Nate said quietly when Link remained silent. "I definitely knew there was something different about you. I can't say that I'm not surprised to hear the truth, but…well, I was beginning to have my suspicions."

Link smiled again but still did not say anything. In truth, he could not think of anything to say. He just admitted to Nate that he had lied from the start but Nate had forgiven him after only mere minutes of explanation, a fact which baffled him. Nate was a true friend in every sense of the word.

"Just one thing, though." Nate asked doubtfully.

"And what is that?" Link asked in reply.

"Do you think you could, you know, tell me about it?" He looked at Link expectantly.

Link smiled. "What do you want to know?"

Link proceeded to give Nate a lengthy discussion about the various adventures he had, which included subjects that had previously been unrevealed to the general public. Nate had finally been given the gist of what had occurred during the hero's life. This insight of the superhuman trials that Link, and Link alone, went through to save Hyrule, coupled with what he already knew of the Twilight Hero, gave him a respect in Link of which no other man could possibly possess.

He had learned of the brain-tantalizing temples that Link had conquered, of the near impossible bosses which lurked in said temples he had brought down to size, and, above all, the vast length to which he, the Hero of Twilight, had went to save his fellow Hylians.

It wasn't over yet, though. "What of this Prince of Darkness? What can you tell me of Ganondorf?"

Link paused for a moment. "Not much, other than that he is a power hungry fool, capable of nothing but chaos, destruction and evil. He was the mastermind behind everything, but in the end, his reign of twilight receded and became a brand new day for Hyrule"

"I could have told you that much." Nate grinned. "But what of the battle you had with him? Was he powerful with a sword?"

"To have taken over an entire kingdom, you have to be a powerful swordsman."

"No, I know that, but I mean-" His voice trailed off into the ever-silencing air.

"How did he fare against me?"

"Yeah." Nate replied.

"He was by far the most powerful opponent I have ever faced." Link said in reply. "What he was lacking in finesse, he made up for in raw strength. It was staggering, how easily he could wield that huge blade of his. He was a powerful adversary, and it did take quite a lot to take him down. Never once did I think of him as a pushover."

"What was the battle like? Can you tell me about it?"

Link, after pausing for a brief moment to collect his thoughts, replied, "Well, you're about to hear the story that few can honestly claim that they know. It all happened like this…"

* * *

><p>Later that night, Link sat awake at the foot of his bed. It was very late by now, but after all that had happened, he didn't feel the least bit tired. Nate's light snores filled the room as he slept deeply in the other bed, but that was the only noise to be heard on an otherwise peaceful night.<p>

Link sighed deeply. Well, that could have gone worse. Again, Link couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed by Nate's behavior though. He didn't seem that surprised at all by this sudden bit of information, almost to the point that he had been expecting to hear it. Could he have known already?

Perhaps he just put pieces together. The sword itself was a good giveaway; it's not often that you see a sword of that quality. And who the hell else has the name "Link" in the entire kingom, Link thought with a slight smirk.

Slowly and quietly, so as to not wake Nate, Link stood up and crept his way towards the door out of the bedroom. The door creaked lightly as he opened it and Link took care to make as little noise as possible as he closed to door behind him. Once out into the hallway, Link followed the path set before him back into the dining hall and back out the huge door to the outside.

He felt a sudden chill as his bare feet touched the cold stone behind the Zora Throne. It was a silent night other than the sound of water coming from the waterfall. Link folded his arms across his chest for warmth as he walked past the waterfall's basin and toward the edge off the cliff where the water tumbled many feet below.

There weren't many guards out at this time of night, but from the few that he did pass, Link got many eyes of suspicion. He could feel their eyes on him as he passed, even though most of them were in dark corners with their faces hidden in the shadows.

Link did his best to ignore them as he made his way over to the cliff's edge. Soon, he found himself teetering over the waterfall with nothing stopping him from falling to the water far below but a flimsy metal fence.

Link sighed with relief as he bent over and rested his elbows on the fence and locked his hands together over the edge. This place was always beautiful in the best of times, but to Link, it was even more beautiful at night as opposed to day. On a clear night such as tonight, the moon would reflect brightly in the water and, at certain times, its light would get directed into the waterfall and scatter in all directions.

"Can't sleep?" Called out a familiar voice to break Link from his momentary session of thought. He felt a gentle hand pat him on the back before the man took a spot leaning on the fence next to him.

"Hey Ralis." Link replied to his counterpart with a frail smile. "Yeah, I just need a moment to settle down before I can shut my eyes."

"I hear ya." Ralis said with a sigh. "And what better place to do that than here, eh?"

Link simply smiled and continued to gaze out over the landscape. After a moment's delay, Ralis continued, "How is Nate?"

"He'll be fine, I think." Link replied shortly. "Shocked, I suppose, but he should come around."

"Ok, that's good." Ralis replied. "I'm sorry, by the way, I truly am. I never meant to do that to you."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Link said quickly. "He would have found out sooner or later. No harm done."

"Ok, well, there is something about him that I want to talk to you about." Ralis continued slowly, uncertainly. "A word of caution, perhaps."

Link frowned a bit and glanced curiously over at Ralis. "Caution? About what?"

"Link…" Ralis said quietly as he stuttered to find the right words to say. "Link, it's just…I'm not so sure that you can trust this man."

"Trust? Ralis, I've been traveling with this guy for weeks, I think I have a pretty good idea of who he is." Link replied, perhaps a bit more angrily than he had intended.

"All the same, Link," Ralis replied calmly. "I deal with politicians all the time, and these men are experts at pretending to be who they are not. And Nate bears a strange resemblance to the politicians that I have the displeasure of being around constantly. I cannot help but think that there is something very deceitful about his supposed 'coincidental' appearance."

Ralis paused for a reply but none came from Link. Instead, Ralis continued. "Look, Link, Nate seems like a great person. And he probably is. But, perhaps just due to my nature, I don't think I can trust him yet, and I don't want you to make the mistake of revealing your darkest secrets to a backstabber."

"All due respect, Ralis, but you don't know Nate Like I do." Link said with a sigh.

"Fair enough." Ralis replied with a hint of discontent. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"And I appreciate it, but I am the Twilight Hero. I can look after myself."

"Alright fine." Ralis sighed. "But let me say one more thing. After the fall and rise again of Hyrule, you lost your spot in the hearts of all of Hyrule. And you lost many of those friends that you held dear. And I know that must have been very tough on you, tougher than I could ever imagine. But don't let your desperation to find a friend lead you to make friends out of an enemy."

Link didn't reply and let his words sink in. A few awkward moments later, Ralis stepped away from the guardrail and said quietly, "Don't stay up too late."

Again, Link didn't reply. He waited until Ralis' footsteps died away before he too stepped away from the fence and made his way back to the warm bed inside waiting for him.

* * *

><p>"Now is the time, My Master. We will arrive in approximately three days time."<p> 


	9. A Strange Rock

**Chapter 9 – A Strange Rock**

Link awoke the next morning on what would become perhaps the happiest day that he had experienced since before the war. It had been a long time since he had felt so free of burden and oblivious to all the neglect and stupor around him. It was a simple day in which nothing much transpired, but it is often the simplest days that are the most memorable.

A full day was shared by Link, Ralis and Nate doing nothing apart from lazing about and enjoying the fruits of each other's company. And for Link, there was a feeling about him that he had not felt in a long, long time; a sense of belonging. It was almost as if nothing had come between Link and his kingdom after the war, but alas, some prayers come back unanswered.

But what Ralis had brought up the night before still lingered in the back of Link's mind. Was it truly an act of coincidence that he had met Nate or could there have been some malicious intention masked somewhere behind that clever ruse? Was it simple chance that they had come together so closely or was it a combination of Nate's aggression towards his prey and Link's need for company? Could Nate be who Link believed him to be or might he be something far worse?

Link tried to touch on the subject with Nate around midday that day, when Ralis was called by one of his advisors to read and possibly authorize a proposed bill written by the civil head of labor. The two were waiting by waterfall while Ralis acted on his duties as prince, in much the same position that Link and Ralis were the night before.

Nate had his elbows on the railing and staring down at the water below while Link was right next to him with his back against the fence and looking up at the sky.

Link took a deep breath, and then said quietly, "Do you ever wonder how we came to be?"

Nate furrowed his brow and replied, "I beg your pardon?"

"It's just…" Link said slowly as he tried to piece his thoughts into sentences. "We kind of met in a crazy situation, didn't we? We just sort of ran into each other and the rest is history. Do you ever think that there may be something behind that?"

"Perhaps it was the good fortune of the gods." Nate said with a shrug of indifference and then promptly spit over the fence. He watched in admiration as his creation sailed down into the water below, nearly hitting a nearby Zora swimmer.

Link thought for a minute or two. "Maybe." He said quietly. "But what if…?"

"Why must 'why' be such an important question?" Nate said quickly, cutting Link off mid-sentence. "Can't we just take what we have in stride and be thankful that our paths crossed?"

"Yeah." Link said with a nod. "Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound distrustful, it's just, you seemed to turn up right when I needed you most. But forget I mentioned it."

"No, it's fine." Nate said with a small grin. "It was very fortunate wasn't it?"

"For you or for me?" Link said with a smirk and Nate laughed as well. "You know," Link continued. "I used to dive into the pool from way up here a few times back during my adventures."

"No way," Nate said with a frown that concealed a grin. "You wouldn't have the guts to do that."

"Yeah?" Link grinned. He strapped off his shoes and took off the upper portion of his tunic, then said, "Watch me. And when you don't follow me, I'll call you a wimp from now on."

And so, Link got the answer he had been hoping for, but he was still not entirely convinced. But he put any thoughts on the matter all the way into the back of his mind and by dinnertime, he had forgotten about the matter altogether. Perhaps there was something to be explained there, perhaps there wasn't; but Link no longer cared, for Nate was a great friend and that was all that mattered.

* * *

><p>Link woke up late on the day that he and Nate were to leave. Having already gone through the agony of packing the day before, he spared himself somewhat in that respect.<p>

He often wondered to himself why it was that they had to leave now. Conceivably, they could stay here for a very long time. They weren't needed anywhere else, and Link was sure that Ralis would let them stay for as long as they wanted.

Perhaps Link said it best when he described himself as a drifter. Ever since his life-changing adventure, Link could not find the urge to settle down in one place for too long, even in places that gave him the happiness he was looking for. Nate, Link was almost sure, was the same way. In fact, it was Nate's idea that the two pack up and head out early that day.

Still, Link was faced with the enormous task of saying good-bye to a very good friend. What made it worse was that he had no idea when he'd see Ralis again, perhaps not for many months.

Which ultimately led to the foreseeable question, where would they go next? Literally thousands of viable destinations were out there, and yet, no single location stood out in front of the rest in Link's eyes. All were essentially equal in terms of legitimacy.

It was while he was doing this, pondering where-to in the dull candlelight, that Nate woke up. Nate, too, had packed the night before. But he, unlike Link though, had chosen to make use of his extra time by sleeping in.

At first, Link hadn't noticed him get up. His contemplative eyes seemed fixed on the wall behind Nate's bed, too concentrated to detect movement below. Unmoving, but forever thinking. It was not until Nate was ready to walk out the door when Link noticed he was up.

"Boy, Link," Nate said, grinning. "Not much of a morning person, huh?"

Normally quite the definition of a morning person, Link was anything but today. His hair was very disheveled, with many strands askew and pointing off in awkward directions. A bag of faint black hung beneath his eyes. He sat in a slump in his chair, characterizing his current grogginess, his eyes open and empty.

Upon hearing Nate's voice, Link visibly shook his head awake and promptly faced the source hastily. "Just thinking," Link yawned, after he had noticed the voice came from his friend. "You know, about what happens next."

Nate looked back at Link thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "We don't really need a set destination." Nate answered. "We could do what I am used to doing, namely wander around aimlessly."

Link shared in an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose so…"

"Here, how about this-" Nate suggested. "We go back to South Hyrule Field. I know that area best, I could show you the many nooks and crannies it has to offer. And while we are doing that, and while traveling there, we can decide what to do after. Sound good?"

Link grinned slightly, and silently thought to himself what Nate could possibly know that he didn't already. Having passed through the area many times beforehand, it was hard to imagine that Nate knew more about the area than he did. But he didn't mention this to Nate, and instead nodded and replied, "Yeah, that does sound good. Much better than anything I could come up with."

"Alright then, are you just going to sit there all day or are we going to get going?"

Link grabbed his small bag and stood up with a grin on his face. "I was ready to go much earlier than you were!"

"Whatever." Nate smirked. "So why is it then that I walked out the door first?"

Link grinned and followed Nate out the door and into the hall. "Shut up and walk." Taking one, final look back into the room, Link shut the door.

In no time at all, they found themselves behind the large door that lead into the dining room. With one hand resting on the doorknob, Nate spun around to face Link and said seriously, "Don't take too long."

He did not elaborate and opened the door upon saying that, but Link knew perfectly well what he was talking about. Both he and Nate knew what lay between them and the door, a very powerful obstacle. The obstacle of guilt.

Ralis was already down in the dining room, facing them and eating lightly. His head perked up at the sound of the squeaking door hinges, and Link got a good look at him. He had definitely seen better days. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his overall demeanor was slow and shaky, jumpy and tense.

Link and Nate began their march, slow and steady, over to Ralis, who was watching them the whole while. "Hey." Link said awkwardly when they had reached the distress Zora prince.

"Hey." was all he got in return.

"Yeah, so… uh, we're leaving today…"

"Yeah," Ralis answered quietly.

"I'm sorry, Ralis, I would love to stay longer…" Link looked at Nate for a split second before continuing. "But we need to leave now. We cannot stay here."

"Yeah, you gave me the reason last night…" Ralis muttered quietly. "But, y-you'll come back, right? To visit?"

Link smiled. "Definitely."

"I'm sorry." Ralis said quietly. "I don't mean to look like this. The kingdom, though, the stress of decision making is starting to get to me. Perhaps it is better that you leave me now so that I can more fully concentrate on my people."

Link grinned lightly. "Don't work too hard now. We'll be by every once in a while to give you a break."

Ralis visibly lit up at that. Still depressed, but more hopeful, Ralis said, "Well, I guess this is good-bye, Link."

"Yeah, but not for long, I can assure you that."

Ralis stood up and gave his friend a friendly hug. "Take care of yourself." Ralis said when they pulled apart.

"What?" Link smirked. "You don't think I will?"

"Nate," Ralis retorted, grinning. "Watch his back for him. Watch his back for the goddesses know that he can't."

Nate smirked. "Will do."

"You guys are mean." Link said grinning.

"Oh, get over it." Nate said jokingly. "You ready?"

"Yeah… See you soon, Ralis." Link turned on a dime and walked toward the door to the Zora throne room. In the knowledge that he would not see this room in a while, Link took care in noting the serene beauty it held, down to the last tapestry. When they had reached the door, Link opened it and walked through it, nary a backward glance. He couldn't bear to look back.

The doors opened to the throne room, which was full of seemingly emotionless guards, but Link knew better than to think that they truly were emotionless. He knew they were thrilled to have him gone. Link led the way, passing through the sea of Zora guards unselfconsciously. Finally, when he was out of the throne room and had reached the hallway constructed in the mountain, Link stopped to look back.

"Are you going to miss it?" Link heard somewhere off to his right.

Link watched as the water cascaded down from the throne room, and admired in awe the light which reflected brilliantly of the water. The water below, filled with happy-go-lucky Zoras swimming about, glittered with the noontide sunlight as well.

"Yeah…" Link said distracted, taking in the sight around him.

"Come on, we can't stand here forever." In the end, Nate had to practically drag Link away from the Zora's Domain.

"Well, that didn't take as long as expected." Nate said thankfully.

Link had got a mind of his own again once they had made it to the entrance to the fishing hole. "Yeah, I prefer things to be quick."

They walked at a quick pace after that. With no more distractions to hinder their speed, they were able to make good time. But that didn't wash away the tinge of regret Link felt.

* * *

><p>Link woke up the next morning sore and achy. After a couple of days of rest, his body wasn't ready for the grueling conditions of mountain traveling. Nonetheless, they had made it down the semi-steep mountain path and were presently camped in Northern Hyrule Field.<p>

It was a grueling day of hiking, the day before, but neither of the two complained. Indeed, there was not much talk between them at all through the entire day once they left the Zora's Domain. They had left without another word, and after stopping to pick up Epona again, they proceeded down the path. Each was lost in his own mind with thought.

Link had no idea what Nate could possibly be thinking about, but Link found himself thinking, once more, to the night which had transpired just two days ago. Of course, he was grateful to have Nate back as a friend again, but the sequence just didn't seem to add up. After Link had retold his story to Nate, Nate barraged him with a bunch of in-depth questions.

Nate wanted to hear more of Zelda, of his home in Ordon, of the Goron tribe, of the Twilight Realm, of the mysterious Midna. He wanted to hear of the temple's puzzles and bosses and the vast distances that he covered in his travels.

But most of all, he wanted to hear of Ganondorf. It all had seemed justifiable at the time and Link had gone along with it, but looking back, it seemed very curious. Nate had spoken of Ganondorf as if he had somehow already known much about him, as if he and the evil king had previously met. As if he already knew the answers to the questions he was asking.

And again, Ralis' warning crept back into his mind…

Nate was already up when Link finally got up and out of the tent. "Hey, what's for breakfast?" He said with a smirk when he saw Nate crouched over a small fire with a frying pan.

"A fish I just caught." Nate replied simply, keeping his full focus on cooking the fish.

"Aww, more fish?" Link pouted. "We've had nothing but fish for the past three days!"

"If you want to starve, be my guest." Nate retorted. "I would think that you would be happy that I got you breakfast."

Link smiled. "I am grateful, thank you." He took a seat on the ground across from Nate.

In no time at all, the fish had been cooked and served. Luckily it was big enough to satiate both of their hungers. And after having doused the fire and packed up camp, they were, once again, on the road.

"Think that they'll be happy to see you?" Nate said, pointing ahead of them as they started to move along.

Link saw, looming ahead of them in the distance, the small chasm that led to East Hyrule Field. Link fought hard to restrain a laugh. "I doubt it."

"Do you want to go that way?"

"Yeah, I think we should." Link said thoughtfully. "In the end, I think it would be quicker, seeing as we would have to go pretty far out of the way to go through castle town. And besides, me traveling through castle town at this point probably would not be such a great idea."

"Yeah, I agree, but you don't think that the goblins will cause any problems, do you?"

"Nah, I doubt it. But if they do, I'll take care of them."

Nate laughed. "Well, alright then. Let's go."

Much the same as the last time they passed through the chasm, the journey took two full days. The goblins had retreated deep into the mountains, hidden from view, since their previous encounter. They did come into contact with one once, but he ran at first sight, so all was basically uneventful for the next two days.

On the morning of the third day after they had left the Zora's Domain found Link and Nate back at East Hyrule Field. It was seemingly untouched since they had last passed by here; quite likely, it was untouched. East Hyrule Field, at least the northern portion of it near the bridge, was never known for bustling activity and many people. Moreover, it was highly regarded as intrinsic to the natural well-being of the Kingdom of Hyrule.

Not much was said between the two of them as the readied themselves for another day of travel. They found a nearby berry bush where they were supplied a meager breakfast. After they had finished their light meal, they packed up the tent while Epona proceeded to devour the berries that were left behind.

"Back to the old grind, eh?" Nate said airily as they were doing so. Packing up tent had occurred on each of the past three days, and after their break at the Zora's kingdom, Link could agree with Nate more.

Once they had all of their things and were ready for departure, they slowly crossed the old bridge, destroyed but also fixed by twilight, en route to the most beautiful of Hyrule's fields. Link was really starting to feel groggy by now; he had not gotten a good night's sleep since back at the Zora's kingdom.

They had made it about halfway across the bridge when Nate stopped in his tracks and let out a loud gasp. Link's grogginess instantly disappeared as he turned to Nate with a sense of alarm. Link instinctively reached a hand back to the hilt of his sword, fearing the worst; but, at first, he did not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Nate was staring somewhere over his shoulder and a look of terror filled his face.

"Whoa, Link, what is that?" Nate exclaimed, hysterically pointing his hand toward the heavens.

Link eased up a bit as he turned to look where Nate was pointing, but he tensed right up again when he saw what obviously had caught Nate's attention. A rock, some kind of radiantly shining rock, was blazing through the open skys to their right. Almost pure black at the center, but possessing an extended tail of blazing orange, this rock was hurling overhead toward the ground at immense speeds. It was moving at an alarmingly fast pace and was moving in their direction, growing bigger and bigger with each passing second.

The object itself did not seem to be big at all, and it wasn't high up either. Link could well have hit the thing with an arrow had he the mind to, once it got close enough. That is, he could have if it were not travelling so damn fast. In any case, he did not even try, as he had been frozen by shock.

Link had never seen anything like it before. And judging by the look on his friends face, nor had Nate. At one point, the rock passed by directly overhead, but it passed as quickly as it came and now was shooting past them. After having gotten a better look at it then, he realized that it was not a rock. What it was, he was not sure, but it definitely was not a rock.

Still ablaze, the object continued on its demolition path toward the earth at unprecedented speeds. Somewhere near the entrance to Kakariko Village the object made the inevitable impact with solid ground. The ground visibly rose near where it had plummeted into the earth, telling Link that it had plunged in deep.

"What the hell was that?" Link exclaimed, still rooted to the spot in shock.

"I don't know." Nate replied, almost fearfully. "The goddesses aren't mad at as now, are they? You don't think they're hurling rocks at us now, do you?" He peered around in the sky, as if expecting more to come.

"That wasn't a rock."

"What?" Nate exclaimed. "What the hell was it then?"

"I don't know. I didn't get a very good look at it, but it definitely was not a rock."

Nate turned his attention to the spot, a pretty far ways away, where the object had landed. Steam was rising from the spot freely now as the land around the impact site continued to emit an eerie orange glow. Everything seemed to have stopped apart from the smoke as it rose from the ground at the impact zone.

The moment Link picked up his foot and made to step closer to the far away object, an arm held him back. "Don't! We don't know what it is!" Link heard Nate caution. "Let's just turn around and head back the way we came. We'll just take the long way."

"Come on, Nate," Link said, eyes still fixed at the spot near Kakariko. "That would take days! Besides, what can there be in there that could possibly hurt us?"

"I don't know." Nate cringed. "I don't like the looks of that object, whatever it is. We need to head back now, while we still can."

"That would add _days_ to our journey, Nate, weeks even. We need to move forward." Link finished conclusively, taking a step forward and urging Epona forward. Epona reared up on two legs and neighed loudly. "Come on, girl!" Epona finally conceded, but not without a fight. It would seem that Nate was not the only one who had a bad feeling about what lied ahead.

The only difference was that Nate was not as yielding as Epona.

"Come on, Nate!" Link hollered at him when he noticed Nate had remained motionless. "Or do I have to drag you, too?"

"Fine." Nate muttered, taking cautious step after cautious step forward. "It's your funeral."


	10. Returns

**Chapter 10 - Returns**

With each passing step toward the crater, Link could see more clearly the destruction this object had caused. The landscape around the crater, which had before been abundant in life, lay now in ruin. The nearby trees had become a pitiful existence void of life; their trunks scorched and cracked in places and their leaves absent - burnt right off their branches from the heat produced by the sheer high velocity that the object had been traveling at. Some of the trees closer to the crater itself still housed a relentless flame, and this flame slowly consumed them as these unfortunate fragments of life withered and fell to the ground, dead. The grass around the scene, as well, had been seared to a brown tinge of death. It was so bad that the grass that had been growing where the object hit had seemingly vaporized; only loose impediments of dirt, small rocks and charred wood lay in the crater with the object.

The setting sun cast a gold glare in his eyes, but Link relentlessly drove on. He had no idea how far ahead of Nate he had gotten, but the lack of audible, heavy footsteps behind him told him that Nate had fallen behind.

Steam was still rising steadily from the crater when Link had finally gotten there. It did little to alter his vision, and really only served as a nuisance as Link looked over the side of the crater. It was pretty big, about twenty feet from edge to edge and maybe another ten feet deep. Link could still feel a faint hint of heat residing in the ground as he stepped onto the lip of the crater. He could not think of a time that he had seen something move that fast. When he used his bow, his arrows traveled at a fairly fast pace, but they would pale in comparison to the speeds of this object when it was in flight.

Link peered into the crater, but at first, he did not see anything out of the ordinary. All that he detected were the layers of dirt held in tact even after the collision. Could it be a fluke? No way, a crater wouldn't suddenly appear for no reason. Was the object alive, and able to walk away even? That couldn't be it either, nothing could have survived as devastating impact with the ground as that.

But it was upon a second glance that Link noticed a black object all the way at the bottom that he had simply mistook for a very black layer of dirt the first time. The object was nothing like Link had been imagining. It was some sort of being, small in stature and only three feet tall, at most. It was pure black all around, except for its bright, orange hair. Somehow, it looked familiar.

With the agility of an expert thief, Link leaped into the crater soundlessly. He quickly turned the being, which had been lying on its stomach, over onto its back. Realization washed over him as he got a good, long look into this being's face.

Link forgot all the circumstances about him and smiled ecstatically at his imp friend from long ago. Almost five long months it has been, and yet, here she was. Midna.

Soon, though, Link realized something was terribly wrong. Her skin was a deep and pure black, and lacking the blue markings that he had been accustomed to seeing on her. Her chest rose and fell slightly as she took faint breaths, but otherwise she gave no indication of life. And to top it off, she was an imp again. And the person who changed Midna into an imp last time was none other than the Dark Lord himself.

Carefully, Link picked up the motionless form of Midna and cradled her at his chest. He let his emotions get the better of him, and he began to sob tearfully, saying rhetorically, "Midna, no…please wake up…" over and over again.

"She'll wake." Called out a voice behind him.

Link spun around to face the voice, but eased up as he realized it was Nate, standing coolly at the edge of the crater and looking at the small imp in Link's arms.

His tone was short and emotionless, but Link was more concerned with what was said rather than how it was said. "Nate?" Link questioned puzzled. "What do you mean? Do you know what this is about?"

"Yeah, I know a lot about it." Nate replied vaguely, still standing confidently on the brink of the crater.

"Nate," Link said, glancing down at Midna. "What's going on? You're starting to creep me out."

Nate seemed ready to answered, but Link heard a different, all too familiar voice answer instead. "Nate, that's enough. We wouldn't want to 'creep' our Hero out, now would we?"

Link looked around him for the source, but he could not find it amidst the smoke and the charred, uneven ground. What Link did see was a changed Nate. His eyes looked at him, not with compassion, but with determination. He was grinning uncharacteristically at Link, almost making it look like he felt he was higher than Link.

It happened all at once. Link was watching Nate suspiciously when Midna gave a faint cough in her slumber. Instinctively, Link turned his attention to her, only to have his hopes shot when she made no other movements. Seconds later, Link heard the sound of tiny pebbles, falling down into the crater from behind him. Again, Link turned to face it.

It was as if his very life was being sucked right out of him, when he saw that figure emerging from over a tall lip. A lip which had been sealed from sight at the angle that Link had approached the crater from.

The bright, white wound at his chest was Ganondorf's distinguishing characteristic. To his enemies, it shown brighter than the sun its self, for it is said that if you ever got close enough to see how bright it really was, you'd be dead within a few seconds. The gleaming, red gem on his head, his tall, muscular body, his arrogant smile; every expression of his was the exact same as the man who had been haunting his nightmares down to the minute details. His hair, dyed a deep blood red, glimmered with a devil's hue as he gazed down upon the Hero of Twilight.

"Well, well. Hero." Ganondorf said, making no move for the sword at his back. The very sword that should have killed him many years ago. "Surprised?"

Link was at a loss for words. He was rapidly beginning to find it hard to breath, let alone talk. His arms almost released Midna from shock and fury.

"It's been a while, Link, Hero of Twilight." Ganondorf smirked. "I had begun to miss you. No matter. We're both here now, and that is all that matters, hmm?"

"How-"

"How am I here?" Ganondorf grinned. "I could go off on a long, drawn-out explanation that you do not have the mind power to comprehend, but I'll make it simple on you. I have learned how to control the yellow triangle in _my _hand."

Link stared back at the Dark Lord blankly. When would somebody give him a straight answer? It was infuriating to say the least, but Link had come to expect it of the man who liked to talk almost as much as he liked to kill.

"What happened after our fight?" Ganondorf asked, a look of condescension on his face.

"Well," Link replied slowly. "You just sorta…vanished."

"Vanished?" Ganondorf laughed. "That's what you thought happened? The ignorance runs deep in you, boy." He paused to show his arm, which had a golden triangle seared into it. "It was the Trifore. The Triforce teleported me out of there while you weren't watching. You had me nearly dead, for a few moments you had me worried. But you let your pride get in the way of your sense and I was able to make my escape."

"What kind of trickery is this?" Link retorted feebly.

"The Triforce, boy, the Triforce!" Ganondorf said forcefully and impatiently. "You know nothing of the power which I contain in my veins which was given to me by the goddesses. If I had the mind to right now, I'd show you, first hand, the power which I wield." He smirked.

"Then why don't you do it? Show me your power!" Link roared.

"Oh, no, I am no fool." Gnondorf replied calmly. "My power is rapidly returning to me, but I am still weak. The injuries you've caused me still have not had the time to heal. I would be at a large disadvantage."

Slowly, Link made a move for his sword, still sheathed at his back. "Then now would be my opportune time to strike!"

"I see you have grown wiser since our last battle." Ganondorf taunted loudly. "Good. But I must advise you to not do that. Even in my weakened state, I doubt that you are prepared for me now. Look around you. You like this arid wasteland I have created out of half of East Hyrule Field? What, you thought that Midna just showed up on her own? Perhaps, but don't you think she would have found a more suitable way to return to Hyrule than thundering down from the sky at the speed of light?"

Link gasped as he noticed the truth in that statement. Midna was supposed to be locked away from the land of Hyrule, wasn't she? "What have you done to her?" Link snarled angrily.

"What?" Ganondorf said, grinning innocently. "I just wanted to reunite you with your precious imp, was that such a bad thing? I knew how much she meant to you, so I brought her to you."

"Shut up! If you want to live, you'd better tell me what you've done to her."

"Ah, but where's the logic in that if you are going to try to kill me anyway?" Ganondorf smirked. "I'll tell you, but I'm just saying, you had better think things through before you threaten someone like that next time."

"Just tell me!" Link roared impatiently, his arm resting on the hilt of his blade, still in the scabbard.

"She's just sleeping." Ganondorf said ominously. "To get her back, all you need to do is wake her up."

The mysterious, foreboding tone with which Ganondorf said that bugged the hell out of Link, but he decided to drop it. The less he spoke with this creep, the better.

"Before I depart, Hero, there is one more thing I must tell you, concerning Nate."

Link, in the couple of minutes his attention had been fixed on Ganondorf, had completely forgotten about Nate. Link spun around quickly, to see his friend in a very dark light. He held himself up in a completely different manner; an evil manner.

Link gazed at Nate horrifically as Ganondorf said, "This is my apprentice, Nate. Quite skilled in the arts of deception, is he not? Although, nobody has to be _that_ skilled to be able to deceive you."

Nate grinned maliciously. Link could fell a tear welling up in his eyes as he said pitifully, "I-is it true?"

This only made Nate laugh emotionlessly. "There were moments which I thought you had found me out." Nate grinned. "With the sword, back in the Zora kingdom, so on. But I strove to be much more discreet, after these events. And now, here we are."

It all clicked for Link then. Nate had been working for Ganondorf the whole time. Ganondorf wanted to know more about the Master Sword and about how to combat it. That must be why Nate seemed so interested in it. And why he asked about how it was made.

Nate was just there as a spy. Just to learn about what Link can do. And as sorrowful as that made him feel, it did tell him one thing that he did not previously know about Ganondorf. He was scared. He was insecure, and didn't want to attack until he knew more. Something that was very uncharacteristic of Ganondorf, normally the impulsive one. And even amidst the sadness, that did give him a little hope.

"Your keen ability to remain naïve and ignorant may just have saved Nate's apprenticeship, Hero." Ganondorf said in a low but piercing voice. "Perhaps that is the only thing he is grateful of you for."

Link could fell a tear running down his cheek, but tried to keep his composure as he said pitifully to Nate, "W-why?"

"Why?" Nate mocked. "Because my master said you would be easy to take advantage of. An assumption that, once again, proved to be flawless."

"You've come a long way, Nate." Ganondorf proclaimed. "It won't be too long now till you overtake my other, not quite so loyal apprentice."

Nate smirked, knowing full well what had happened to his former apprentice. "I think you'll find that I am more loyal to you than that disreputable brother of mine."

"I hope so, my apprentice, I do hope so…"

In the blink of an eye, Link unsheathed his sword with his free hand and directed it at the Dark Lord, still hovering on the lip of the crater.

"You'll pay, Ganondorf." Link said tearfully. "So called 'Dark Lord', remember this, you will pay. You pay for all that you have done to Hyrule. You'll pay for what you did once and did again to Midna. You'll pay for what you did to the Twili's. You'll pay for what you've done to me!"

Ganondorf burst out laughing. "Did I not just tell you of the power I have because of the Triforce? Did I not make clear that I can wipe you out in a second?"

"You forget that I have the Triforce too. Every power that you have, I can possess."

"And what are you going to do?" Ganondorf smirked disbelievingly. "Teach yourself?"

"Is that not what you did?" Link retorted. "I am a quick learner."

"You'd better be, to learn in such a short amount of time what I learned in hundreds of years." Ganondorf smirked. "Or are you just that stupid and optimistic?"

"Don't—call me stupid!" Link roared. "You're the stupid one for having gotten me angry!" Still cradling Midna with his left hand, Link lowered himself into a battle stance, his eyes piercing daggers through Ganondorf's heart.

"Come, Nate. Let's get going." Ganondorf said calmly.

"Wow, who would have guessed. The Dark Lord—a coward?" Link taunted.

"I do not lower myself to standards of unearthly taunts, young hero. My pillars do not crumble that easily. But, let me be the first to point out that you may have something more to add to your list of woes." Ganondorf said slyly. Nate had just arrived by his master's side by the time he finished.

"What more have you done?" Link sighed emotionlessly.

"I could tell you…but, I'd rather not. You see, torture of the mind is much more rewarding than torture of the body. More amusing to watch, see? The way the victim cracks under the pressure of emotional guilt sends a shiver down my spine every time." Ganondorf smirked. "I will, however, as my departing gift, leave you with a hint. Here it is: a place you once knew well is not what it used to be, and a girl you once knew is no longer where she used to be."

Link's expression of emotional indifference immediately changed to one of horror and disbelief.

Ganondorf laughed, as did Nate. "See? There it is!" Ganondorf mocked. "See how that just withered your soul? Can you believe how powerful words can become when used correctly…?"

"So…so you just made that up?" Link asked quietly.

"I don't know." Ganondorf smirked. "You tell me."

Link's expression reverted back to apathy. No matter how emotionally torn he was feeling, he would not give Ganondorf the pleasure of knowing it.

"Alright, Nate, I think we have pleasured Link with our acquaintances quite long enough."

Nate grinned and said viciously to Link, "Sorry our friendship couldn't work out." He then grasped Ganondorf's shoulder.

All of a sudden, Ganondorf's left hand lit up gold as Ganondorf closed his eyes. An instant later, the two were engulfed by a great gold light. The light got brighter and brighter still, until it suddenly just vanished from sight, taking Ganondorf and Nate with it.


	11. Hidden in the Rubble

**Chapter 11 - Hidden in the Rubble**

The tension across the land had been stifled somewhat after her royal decree, but that that did nothing to help the stress that the princess now felt. As a matter of fact, in many respects, it worsened her anxiety by an immense degree. Zelda was now safe from media bashing, but as a result, the hatred of the kingdom now rested on the man who had saved that same kingdom. Link made the ultimate sacrifice for his Princess and his kingdom, the very same sacrifice that he had already made when he first pursued Ganondorf, and now, he must live as an outcast. And all this came at Zelda's hand.

Zelda stifled another sob as she sat at her desk and looked at herself in the mirror as she began to get ready for bed. She began brushing her hair with a blank stare and silently regretting everything that had transpired. This was her entirely fault after all; her fault for blaming Link, her fault for even falling into the situation in the first place. She had no right to point fingers and deflect the blame, and yet, no one would know except for Link and herself. She silently looked into the eyes of the figure in the mirror and knew that her eyes were equally soulless as the ones that she saw.

But perhaps there was still hope. If this letter was no joke, which Zelda continually thought it was, then today could be a day that she righted her ship and created a new course towards a better Zelda and a better Hyrule. The events of the past cannot be undone but actions in the present can absolutely affect the scenarios of the future. Let nothing stand between the now and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Zelda was stirred from her thoughts by a knock at her bedroom door. "Mistress Zelda, a man just showed up. He claims to want to talk to you. What shall I do?" Said a butler from the other side of the door.

Zelda jumped at the noise. She had been expecting him soon, but not this soon…

"N-no, tell him I'll be right there!" Zelda said quietly, trying as hard as she could to sound dignified when in fact she was finding it hard to contain the joy in her voice.

"Yes, my Princess." Zelda listened as the butler's footsteps echoed down the circular staircase.

Zelda opened up her left hand, revealing the remnants of the letter she had received mere days ago. It was not often that this artifact left her persona, much less her sight, since the day that she had received it, and there was not one moment since she had first read it that she had not thought about it in some way. It was written on the finest paper she had ever seen. And the handwriting was flawless. But that was nothing compared to what it said.

If she could pull every emotion of longing that she had once felt before Aaron left her the first time and put that into words, those words wouldn't even be able to compare with the letter that Aaron sent. His writing was so elegant, so fluent and passionate, it was almost easy to forget about the trauma he had put her through in leaving her. Her mind told her to never trust him again but her heart told her to let him have a second chance. The baby was beginning to take form inside her. She could feel its presence. Perhaps it may get to see its father, after all…

Taking a deep breath, Zelda confidently and deliberately placed the note on her wardrobe and opened her door to the insecurity beyond. The banister led her down the stairs but offered no guidance past that. After weaving through the many rooms and hallways that the castle housed, she found herself in the entrance room. And there he was. In the flesh.

In the waning light of twilight, it presumably would be very difficult to distinguish a man dressed in pure black, but Zelda did so, and furthermore, she could see every crevasse on this man's familiar face.

"Zelda…" He muttered quietly, a genuine smile on his face.

Not a thing had changed. His short, unkempt, black hair stood up in all directions and he made no effort to try to control it. He was cleanly shaven, except for a small, innocent goatee on his chin. Handsome, muscular; a man fit for a princess.

"Aaron…" Zelda mouthed, a tear glittering in her eye. She had been hoping that this day would come since he had first left her.

He made his move. Just as she began to break down, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh," He whispered with a small smile. "It's alright, I'm here now."

"Aaron, I've missed you so much…" She whispered into his ear.

"I know, I've missed you, too. I don't ever want to leave you again."

"You hurt me, Aaron. Why'd did you leave me?" She said pitifully. "Am I not good enough for you?"

"No!" He exclaimed. "No, don't even think that Zelda, you are the perfect lady-"

"Then why did you leave me?"

"Zelda, I can't control these things." Aaron said hesitantly. "I want to be able to say that I could have devoted all of my time to you, but I had so much going on…"

"But, then, how can I trust you? What if you just leave me again?" The tears were flowing now. "I can't take that again, Aaron. I just can't."

"It won't, I promise." Finally, he pulled away, but kept a firm grab on each of her shoulders. "I can give you my full devotion. But, to make it happen, I must speak with the Hero."

"The Hero?" Zelda asked, taken aback. "You mean Link?"

"Yeah, do you know where I can find him?"

Zelda stood with her mouth agape for a moment or two. What could he possibly need with Link? "No, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone who knows of his whereabouts, if anyone at all. _He _offered to take the fall for the little stunt you played with the Princess of Hyrule." She finished tartly.

"Zelda, I know I can never say 'I'm sorry' enough to make it right, but I can make it better! You mean the world to me, Zelda, and I don't want to lose you. Let me talk to Link."

"I told you already, I don't know how to reach him. He comes and goes as he pleases." Then, she added doubtfully, "But I don't think he'll come by anytime soon, with all of Hyrule hating him so much."

"Damn!" Aaron exclaimed. "I really need to find him! Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"Well, he used to live in Ordon but…"

"Oh goddesses..." Aaron replied softly.

"What?" Zelda asked again, stupefied.

"I need to go." Aaron said firmly.

"Wait! Where are you going? Aaron you can't possibly be foolish enough to go looking for him, can you?"

"I need to, Zelda! He is the only one that can help me!" Aaron exclaimed impatiently.

"But…you can't leave me again…"

"Zelda," Aaron said, flashing a bright smile. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

"But…" Zelda muttered quietly, reaching for him as he walked away; and, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

* * *

><p>With that final flash of light, Ganondorf and Nate were gone and all in East Hyrule Field was still once more. Only the occasional gust of wind stirring up loose impediments brought any movement at all to the otherwise stationary scene, and the utter quiet of the outdoors was quite unnerving. And at no point in the past four months did he feel more alone.<p>

With the coming of Nate, it had almost seemed like an untold miracle. Despite all the anxiety he was forced to endure after the first rise of Ganondorf, he still had Nate, and he could not ask for more. But his departure, his betrayal, was a crushing blow to his desperate innocence.

Did he not find something strange with Nate since the day they met? Could he not have left on the day that they met and all this would have been avoided? Of course, but Ganondorf attacked precisely where he was weakest. Link had overlooked Nate because Nate liked the Hero of Twilight, or at least, acted to like him. And the Hero was willing to turn his head to make sure that the two of them were a perfect fit.

But, in the end, it was all just a ploy. A psychological attack when times seemed brightest by the man whose origins lay in darkness.

The question now must be, what can possibly be done after all this?

Prior damage aside, Ganondorf had also left with Link a very viable threat, a threat that could be in either two locations. Of course, this could be a bluff, but Ganondorf wasn't usually one to throw out empty words. And Link definitely wasn't one to stand around while he knew there was a chance that someone who knows and cares for was in danger.

That aside, two scenarios came to mind immediately for Link when he first heard Ganondorf's threat. So was it Hyrule Castle and Zelda? Or was it Ordon and Ilia?

Ganondorf hadn't only left him the threat either. After months since she had locked herself from the lands of Hyrule, Midna had somehow been forced back into the kingdom, with no further explanation from Ganondorf, of course. Not only that, but she was also an imp again.

How was Ganondorf able to accomplish all of this? How the hell was he even alive?

In utter silence, Link carefully climbed out of the crater created by Ganondorf in East Hyrule Field and sat down next to Epona on the hard ground. With a bit of effort, he laid Midna on the ground next to him and wrapped her snuggly in his only blanket. Her tiny body shivered slightly in the cool, dusk air.

Her current predicament only made more questions arise. Her presence meant either that there was another connection between twilight and Hyrule somewhere, or that Ganondorf possessed some supernatural ability that gave him passage where no other man can, perhaps the power being the Triforce. Her state of body only blurred things further. She had regained her true form back when Ganondorf first fell, but Ganondorf is clearly still around. So why hadn't she stayed an imp if Ganondorf never died and the curse was never lifted? Perhaps Ganondorf had lifted the curse himself to throw everyone off.

And finally, if Link couldn't kill Ganondorf with a clean stab to the heart, how in the name of the goddesses can he be killed?

After nearly an hour, Link forced himself to quit thinking about all of these unanswerable questions. There was no possible way for him to explain these things and thinking about them only wasted valuable time. As of now, the only thing that could be done was to look forward.

And the next course of action had to be answering Ganondorf's threat. So, where to next, Hyrule Castle or Ordon?

The walls of Hyrule Castle Town were well within Link's range of sight, even at his great distance from it. And judging by what little section of wall that he could make out, the castle stood unharmed. That observation alone would certainly not be enough to rule out Zelda, but there was something that Castle Town had that Ordon did not that made all the difference; People. Zelda is surrounded by skilled bodyguards, all of whom would be willing to die for her. They have merely a slim chance of stopping the likes of Ganondorf, however. But also, an abduction of Zelda surely would not go unnoticed, and would only bring attention to Ganondorf, something that he seems to want to avoid at this point. Whereas, if Ilia were abducted, only the townsfolk of Ordon would notice. There certainly was no guarantee, but as of now, Ilia seemed to be in much more danger than Zelda.

With the frailty of an aging widow, Link rose with great effort to a standing position. Epona had not made a single move after all that had transpired, and she merely watched her rider as he strapped Midna to her back. Epona, too, seemed out of sorts; missing that lively burst of energy that had come to define her.

Within minutes, Link was ready to start his trek. A heartfelt sorrow still rested in the confines of his soul, but a newfound determination had suddenly appeared in the depths of his heart.

* * *

><p>Midna did not make another move for the two days that Link walked. Each of the past two nights, Link had salvaged spare food for her, only to have his hopes squashed under a large weight of realization. Her small, frail body did not even make a twitch when he tried to feed her, even when he practically shoved a spoonful of soup broth down her unyielding mouth.<p>

By day, Link strapped her to Epona's back as carefully as he could. After a day of travel, he would place her comfortably in his tent, so he could pretend it were like old times, even though there was nothing much similar nowadays compared to the times of their first adventure. Her presence does not make much difference if she does not live. And the worst part was he hadn't the slightest idea of how to cure her from this coma she found herself in, if that was even possible.

The sun shone brightly as Link woke up that day. He was now at the entryway into woods surrounding Ordon, not even a day's walk from his destination. A myriad of trees blocked his view of the place he called home, but somehow, something was wrong. He could sense it.

The air was calm enough, and nothing gave the impression of anything out of place. Epona was up and about, and Midna was still in her eternal slumber. Everything was alright, and yet, something was different…out of place.

Never letting down his guard, Link packed up his tent. With all his supplies and Midna strapped to Epona, he began to walk through the woods at a faster pace than he had previously been going. The woods were dark, the paths narrow, but that did nothing to mar the determination of Link's stride. Epona was still shaken, but Link could not be, not with so much at stake.

He was soon upon a clearing, and in the mid-afternoon sun, Coro's hut came into view. Coro was not sitting outside, but that was not anything to worry about. Coro had the reputation of slacking off. The great fairy's pond on the other side of a wide, dark cave was not disturbed. Still nothing to worry about.

With a great anticipation of doom, Link found himself at the wooden bridge to the outskirts of Ordon. Link walked across and saw Ordona's pond a little farther down. It, too, was preserved. Perhaps he had chosen incorrectly…

Even his own house, Link noticed when he got there, was perfectly fine. Something else was not though. The gates to Ordon were on their hinges. One half was shattered and the other half lay discarded on the ground. It was here. He had chosen right.

"Stay here, girl." Link whispered to Epona as he quietly unsheathed his sword. Tiny splinters of charred wood littered the slightly scorched earth surrounding the gate and even faint glints of steam were visible to the very observant eye. The short distance from his house to Ordon village was agonizing, especially when he got a good glimpse at the humble village.

Ordon, as he had left it, lay dead. Not a single building in view was left standing. Walls were damaged, roofs dented, houses scorched. The water wheel floated uselessly in the water below. Burnt grass was left where healthy grass used to be. Life was gone. The destruction was great, but the real pain for Link came in the fact that no one was there.

There was no sign of life about. Link could see Rusl's house was heavily damaged. It was no normal damage either. Most raiders have the mercy to burn the whole building to the ground, but Ganondorf was no normal marauder. He picked his spots, mainly the support beams, and didn't mess with the rest. It stood upright still, slowly collapsing under the pressure of its own weight.

But no house was damaged more than Mayor Bo's. It was the only house that was almost completely razed. All that remained standing were a few of the interior walls. The rest was rubble, and the entire inside was scorched to a grotesque black.

Link almost dropped his sword under the anxiety. Not only was Ilia gone, but so was everyone else. It was recent, too; the soil was soft and the air fresh with burnt wood.

On the verge of tears, Link searched the town for any sign of hope. No one was hiding in the bushes, no clue as to where they were could be seen, no remnant of their very lives were anywhere in sight. The only possible sign of hope lied in the fact that no sign of any dead bodies lied about as well.

It was only when Link searched the very farm he used to work that he found a sign of hope. The farm gates, too, were burned to the ground, and the shack that once held goats was burned, but still standing. There were no signs of the goats that used to live here, but it was inside this shack that Link found life.

"Link!" A young voice exclaimed happily. "You're back! I knew you'd come back!"

Startled, Link looked for the source. Emerging from rubble was Colin, a huge smile on his war-scarred face.

"Oh, goddesses, Colin! What happened to you?" Colin was a mess. A large gash on his left cheek was by far his worst injury. It was several inches long, and it was a wonder that it hadn't cut through to the inside of his mouth. Blood stained his lower jaw and neck, and left arm drooped at his side uselessly, apparently sprained or perhaps broken. His tattered shirt revealed some bruises and cuts on his chest and his whole body was covered in dirt and sweat.

"It was horrible Link, everyone's gone! I'm the only one left…" Colin exasperated, covering his head in his hands as he began to sob violently.

"Sh, Colin," Link said, laying his hands on the young man. "I'm here now. Come on, I'll get you cleaned up, but then I need you to tell me all that you know, can you do that for me?"

Colin sniffled a little, then nodding accordingly.

"Alright, come on; follow me back to my house." Link offered him a hand, which Colin gratefully accepted.

Link led the way back through town and to his house, Colin refusing to let go for fear of what had just happened. And Link, too, did not want to let go. Once back to the house, Link begrudgingly let go to search for his medical supplies he kept on Epona. They were buried amidst everything else he kept on her, but eventually, he found them. He opened the small box and grabbed a few bandages he carried in there. "Alright, Colin, I don't have any potion with me, but this should help protect that gash until we get you some. It's going to feel funny and uncomfortable, but you'd rather that than risking that thing healing up wrong."

Colin sat impatiently as Link began to wrap the bandage around Colin's head. Unfortunately, the only way he could get at it without sacrificing any of Colin's senses was by wrapping it around his head underneath the jaw and on top of the head.

"Alright," Link said when he had finished. "Can you still talk?"

"Yes." Colin said, nodding slowly.

"Not too tight?"

Colin shook his head.

"Alright, I'm afraid that is really all I can do right now. Let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll go to Castle Town. Come on, let's get to the spring."

Link turned to go, but young Colin did not follow. In fear, Colin pointed at Epona and asked, "L-Link, what is that?"

Link followed what Colin was pointed at and, when he realized what it was, cursed under his breath. "Forget about it, Colin." Link said, doing his best to shield Midna from Colin's view. "What's important is that we get you healthy again. I'll explain later, I promise."

Colin continued to look suspiciously around Link at the mysterious black lump on Epona, but he did not question again. Probably because of how exhausted he was, but nevertheless, Link was grateful.

Link grabbed Colin's hand in one hand and Epona's reigns in the other as he began to walk back to the spring. Both followed without question and they were soon upon the spring.

"Colin, I need you to take off your shirt and sit down in the spring." Link said, letting go own Epona's reigns at the entrance of the spring.

Colin did so and Link finally got a good look at Colin's back. It was covered in minor scratches, cuts, and bruises, all of which were also covered in dirt. They were already infected; Link could see that as soon as he laid eyes on them.

"Sorry, Colin, this may hurt a little…" With a little hesitation, Link scooped up some of the spring water in his hands and poured it over the open wounds on Colin's back. Colin gasped as the warm water ran down his back and into the wounds.

"Colin, perhaps to keep your mind off it, could you tell me what happened here?" Link suggested as he ran more water and this time, massaged the wounds with his hands in an attempt to clean them.

Colin sighed as the pain of the water ran through his body. "I-It all happened s-so fast. He came, the man in black…In the middle of the night he came. He lit the night with fire. He brought nothing but destruction."

Colin spoke like a man possessed. His whole body tensed up with each and every word, as if he feared it would happen again if he spoke about it. His eyes faded in and out of focus, and he soon became slightly confused with which reality he was living in, the now or the past.

Nonetheless, after a moment's hesitation, Colin continued, "A cloak clouded his every motion; I never got a good look at him. He never said a single word throughout everything. Even when we began screamed, he remained emotionless. Until he had finished the raid. He then began to laugh for a while. It was like no laugh I have heard before in my life."

"How did he do this?" Link asked, after he let the words sink in.

"I d-don't know. He created fire…out of nothing. He was some kind of mage, father said…"

Link paused. "Why? Why did he do this? What was his motive?"

"I don't know, Link, but it was awful!"

"Who did he go after? Anyone in particular?" Link asked, fearing he knew the answer already.

"Well," Colin sniffled. "He did destroy Mayor Bo's house first… But he looked very angry after he did. I think he may have gone after Ilia. But he was unsuccessful. He did not get her."

"He didn't?" Link gasped. "What? How did she get away."

"Well, she didn't." Colin replied hesitantly. "She was never here. A few days after you left, Bo allowed her to leave the house, and that night, she ran away. Nobody knows where she went."

This all didn't make any sense. Why would Ganondorf taunt that he had her in his possession if he truly did not? What did he stand to gain in doing so? Or did he manage to track down and capture her after the fact? But one thing was clear, and that was that Ganondorf definitely targeted Ilia and not Zelda. Unless, of course, he lied and went after both.

Link quickly disentangled himself from his thoughts and said, "What happened to everyone else? Does he know that you are still here?"

"I don't think so. I was able to hide in the shadows while he went on his rampage. I don't think he ever caught a glimpse of me. And when he was done burning down our village, he brought more light to the night. This brilliant, golden light enveloped him and everyone else, and when it faded, they were gone."

That matched the description alright. "Colin, how long ago was this?"

Colin shrugged innocently. "I don't know, Link…"

"You couldn't give me a guess?"

"I really don't know, Link, but it has to be around three or so days."

"Three days!" Link gasped. "You've been in the farm rubble for three days?"

Colin nodded slowly. "Something like that."

"Alright Colin, I've done all I can do for now." Link sighed while getting up. "Why don't you get yourself dried off and then we'll find you some food. After that, we will head for Castle Town."

Colin followed Link slowly; his head drooped so low that it almost scraped against the ground. "Colin," Link said, placing his hands on Colin's shoulders. Colin looked up with his pitying eyes as Link said, "Did your father say anything to you before…Did you get a chance to talk to him?

Colin shook his head; he was on the verge of losing it. "Colin, Rusl would have wanted his son to be tough, though thick and thin. Can you do that, Colin? Together, we can get your father back, but you need to be tough."

Colin nodded slowly, wiping away at his eyes. "Thanks, Link."

"The man who did this is after me, Colin. He is doing this to try to lure me out." Link then frowned. "And he picked the right bait. But, either way, I will not rest til I bring this man down."

"How do you know this man?"

"He is a man of enormous power. We squared off some time back, and I thought I got the best of him then. But he has come back, and he will look for me. I can almost guarantee you that he will try to find out about you, too. I will not let him find you, alright, Colin? That thing you saw on Epona's back? It, she rather, will protect you as well as me, as soon as I can revive her. Don't think that you are alone now, Colin, because you're not."

"When will we find the others?"

"I don't know Colin, but it'll be as soon as I can make it happen."

At that moment, a strange figure emerged from the nearby woods. He was covered entirely in black and was still under the protection of the tree's shadows. Link could not get a good look at this man's face, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up instantly. With a surprisingly booming voice, the man said, "I think I can help you make it happen sooner."


	12. The Traitor

**Chapter 12 - The Traitor**

"What would you have me do, my Master?"

Ganondorf eyed his eager apprentice almost proudly. His apprentice's head was bowed as he knelt before his master, and all Ganondorf could see of him was the top of his flame-red hair. He held an air of confidence about him, almost fearlessness. He has matured enough to take on even the most difficult of tasks, perhaps he was ready for the one at hand?

No, now was not the time.

"Nothing." Ganondorf commanded deliberately. "Nothing yet. We must wait." Ganondorf lounged back in the red sofa in the middle of a living room which was not his. "The hero must make the first move. We can't come out into the open yet."

"But, how can we be sure he will do anything at all?"

"Sit." Ganondorf commanded. Hesitantly, Nate got up from his kneeling position and sat at the chair across from his master. "I don't know if you know how much Link hates me. He does his best to hold it within, but it is there. I can feel it. His eyes kindle a fire of hate whenever he sees me. Surely you saw it? Link will come for me; I can assure you of that."

"So, that's it?" Nate asked heatedly. "We just sit here and wait for him to do what he pleases? We should hit him while he's down! He's weak; we can get him easy now! You would risk everything that we have worked for on mere assumption?"

"Do not fear." Ganondorf commanded fervently. "Never…fear. Fear is weakness. If you fear, you lose. Simple as that. You think that Link will want to kill you? Of course he will, he is not quite as noble as you make him out to be. Do not fear the hero. You'd better believe that if you fear for even a second, Link will be all over you. Never fear, do you understand me?"

"I do not fear the Hero of Twilight."

"Yes, you do," Ganondorf replied calmly. "Else you would not want to dispose of him so quickly. A quick kill is a kill out of fear; a lasting kill is a kill out of emotion. Do you understand, my apprentice?"

Nate nodded hesitantly.

Under the dim light, Ganondorf's cold demeanor was almost hidden from view. "Some things…are more important than what you suggest. Simply killing Link will not satiate my hunger any more. I had my chance to earlier, and I failed. I cannot let that shame live on. I will kill Link, but not until after I put him through as much agony as I went through in failure. Although, I assure you, he is quite a bit more hurt right now than I am." Ganondorf laughed halfheartedly.

"Then just make it an agonizing death. Just do it as soon as you can! With Link gone, there will be nothing to protect Hyrule from its fate."

"Nate, know your place. Your wishes have absolutely no impact on my decisions. You are to carry out my will, not change it." Ganondorf paused. "Still, you have proven yourself most worthy. You will get what you want, eventually. I cannot do it now. Let him build up again. Let Hyrule build again. Then, we'll kill the hero, mangle all hope, and burn Hyrule Castle to the ground."

"What about the girl?" Nate asked.

"What _about _the girl?"

"How are we going to find her?"

"It would be imprudent to search for her now." Ganondorf replied, an ounce of shame almost detectable in his voice. "With the scarce resources I have at my disposal right now, it could take weeks to track her down. And that aside, the Hero must have discovered his home village's fate by now."

Nate hesitated slightly. "But, my Lord, surely he will still think that you have taken her?"

"Perhaps." Ganondorf replied. "But we mustn't rely on that."

"Well, what about the others?"

"I don't know." Ganondorf said impatiently. "Leave them chained up for now. I'm sure I will find a good use for them sooner or later. If that use is just killing them, so be it."

He paused, and the two of them sat in silence for a minute or two. Then, Ganondorf said, "I am afraid your brother's treachery has reached a level that even I could not have predicted."

"How so?" Nate replied timidly, almost fearing for his own safety.

"The princess lives."

Nate stared at Ganondorf without saying a word. His brother had turned his back on them? The fool! Did he forget what was at stake here?

Ganondorf's voice jarred Nate from his thoughts. "If he survives, it is my wish that you be the one to dispose of him. When the time is right, I will let you know."

Nate bowed ever so slightly. "Yes, my Lord."

Somewhere above them, a loud roar was sounded. Ganondorf look at the ceiling above him indifferently. "In the meantime, settle those yetis down."

Ganondorf eyed his apprentice scurry from the chair and out one of the doors in the living. "Who would have thought?" Ganondorf grumbled to himself. "Yetis living in a mansion, on the top of a mountain…" He made an unpleasant sound with his lips.

With that he folded his arms at his chest and closed his eyes. As his body began to drift off, his confidence never did. And outside, a small blizzard was slowly obscuring the windows.

* * *

><p>"I think I can help you make it happen sooner."<p>

The man clad in black took a few steps closer to where Link stood but he made no movements that could be interpreted as confronting. His voice was low and piercing and it was painfully obvious that the bearer was very experienced in the art of speech. His figure was completely shaded from view, even in the afternoon sun. All that could be seen of his skin was a very small fragment of his chin.

"I know much about what you seek." The man continued with an air of confidence. "I can help you achieve what must be done. I think you will find my assistance quite valuable, but in order for me to help you, I need you to promise to do something for me in return. Make no mistake, Hero, what I give to you will be great but what you must give to me may be even greater."

Link's first impulse when he saw this man and heard his unwavering voice was to make a move for his sword. As if his choice in clothing wasn't suspicious enough, his presence in a setting such as Ordon with a request such as this would cause even the most gullible of people in Hyrule to doubt themselves. But at the same time, there was something familiar about this man, something mysterious yet very familiar.

Colin had not said a word or made a single move since the man had emerged from the shadows. Any life that he had regained after being rescued by Link mere minutes ago had vanished in an instant. Link could almost feel the fear that the young man was experiencing with each passing breath.

Link resisted the temptation to make for his sword and instead took a step forward in an effort to show trust, and to show confidence to Colin, despite feeling quite the opposite in both respects. With an equally personified voice, Link called back, "If the trade between us is unequal, then why should I choose to accept it?"

"A wise man." The man returned with a small laugh. "I can see you are a man of sense, as I believed you would be. But I advise you discard reason when you act on this dilemma. What I can offer is only knowledge, what you must return to me is protection."

Link frowned. "Explain yourself."

"In due time, Hero, in due time." The man replied. "Before I can give you any of my help, I must get a guarantee from you that you will help me. I am not a man of war, you see. If I showed you all my cards now, there would be nothing stopping you from taking them from me. I need something from you that will allow me a way out, shall we say."

"I won't allow you to control me, if that's what you are asking for." Link answered rather harshly.

"Oh no, I have no intention to control you, Hero, you misunderstand me. All that I want is a guarantee that we are on the same page here."

"I will give you my word." Link said automatically. "My word that we can establish an agreement suitable to both of us, after you have given me your name."

"I'm afraid your word won't be enough, and I have no intention of giving away my name just yet." The stranger said ominously. "You see, Hero, I gained the knowledge that I have with the unspoken understanding that I would not use it to betray the one which it refers. Relaying this information to you would put my life in jeopardy."

"And what would you have me do about this?" Link asked with an ounce of misgiving.

"I was placed under a tracking curse by a very powerful mage many months ago." The man said. "This curse's sole purpose was to alarm the mage if or when I came into close contact with you, Hero. The mage probably already knows that I am here because of that curse. A mercenary is headed this way as we speak, I am sure. What I ask of you is to fend this man off for me."

"So…" Link said slowly. "If I were to decline this offer…"

"I would perish by the hand of this hired blade, and you're vital information will pass with my final breath." The man finished.

"You came here with possibility of death over your head, and you leave your life in my hands?" Link asked doubtfully. "There must be something else that you want, if you are willing to risk everything."

"No, Hero, I have given you my offer, this is all I ask of you." The man replied matter-of-factly. "But do not take this mercenary lightly; the mage hired him with the knowledge that I would not stand a chance against him in combat, which I know to be true. But to a swordsman of your caliber, I think that this mercenary will prove to be a good match."

"Alright, let me get this straight." Link replied slowly. "You want me to risk my life for yours, and in return, you'll tell me some secrets. The trade seems pretty lopsided, don't you think?"

"Do not underestimate the knowledge I possess, Hero. It will prove invaluable in your plight, that much I am sure." The man said, a hint of desperation now detectable in his voice. "Here, I will give you a sliver of insight which may help sway your decision. Your precious imp is easily curable, if you follow my directions."

"Midna?" Link asked with a gasp. Any wariness Link had in this man's offer instantly vanished with those words. "Midna? What do you know about her condition?"

"Help me and I will tell you." The man replied coyly. "All that I ask is that you save my life like you saved Hyrule. Should not be such a difficult task, relatively speaking."

"Colin," Link said as he turned to look at the last Ordonian. "Take Midna - she's the thing on Epona's back – Take her into my house and lock the door behind you."

"But…" Colin pleaded frailly.

"Now Colin!" Link replied, perhaps a bit more harshly than he had intended. "If something were to happen to you or her, I don't know what I would do to myself. Please Colin, lock the door and do not open it for anyone but me. Got it?"

Colin nodded slowly. In equally slow movements, he carefully picked up Midna from her slumbering position on Epona's back and started to climb the ladder up to Link's house with her cradled in one hand. It was a struggle for him but eventually, he was at Link's front door, at which point he called, "Don't leave me."

Link smiled halfheartedly and replied, "Never."

With that, Colin entered the house and Link heard the audible click as the lock was set into place from the inside.

"Alright." Link said with finality, turning back to the man clad in black. "You had better hope for my sake as well as yours that this information you possess is useful."

"I do not deceive you, Hero." The man said coldly. He then pointed out to the nearby woods and said, "Find a tree over there and hide behind it. I will lead the man you must slay here. I do not imagine that you will have to wait very long."

Link nodded slowly and, before he turned his back, he asked, "Why? What caused you to go to such lengths? What caused you to risk your live so haphazardly?"

"Later, Hero." The man muttered. "Go now, quickly!"

Link conceded, and he unsheathed the Master Sword as he ran into the cover of the nearby forest. He picked a relatively large tree to hide behind; to the casual observer, he would be completely hidden from view. The stranger, on the other hand, ran off in the other direction, toward the pass that leads to the Ordona Spring.

As Link stood and waited in the forest, a moderate sense of apprehensiveness was beginning to take hold of him. Link, in his brief knowledge of the world, could not think of many mages that walked among man. In fact, in Ordon, mages aren't even thought to exist, and they are often used as fictional stories told to the children to threaten against certain actions. Things like, "don't go outside at night or the magic man will get you," and other such phrases are fed to the children, though the legitimacy of these sayings is nonexistent and whose sole purpose is to create good habits.

And of the mages that Link did know, he was quite sure that most of them were not capable of something as complex as what a tracking curse must be. These mages that he could think of were mainly entertainment seekers, drawing crowds with their ability to dance with the elements. In fact, the only man Link felt confident that could pull off a tracking curse had to be Ganondorf. Was it possible that Ganondorf had laid this curse on this man?

Whatever the case, a mage of such power would surely be able to tug strings easily, which directly leads to the case at hand. The henchman that he would send would surely be no pushover. Indeed, Link was beginning to think that it would take every ounce of will that he possessed, and perhaps a bit more, to be able to defeat him.

And would it be worth it?

Link never got the chance to answer that question. At that moment, the man clad in the black cloak appeared in view running past Link's house and toward the gates of Ordon. A few paces behind him, and walking at a leisurely pace, was the assassin, though he looked nothing like the typical assassin.

He was large in stature, almost a head taller than Link, and looked to be very strong. He wore ornate steel plate-legs that extended down to his ankles and matching wrist guards but that was all the armor that he had cared to adorn. He was completely bare-chested, and went without both a helmet and a shield. The sword, however, was certainly a sight to behold. It was a very pale gold and was at least a foot longer than the Master Sword that Link possessed. The sword was double-edged; one side razor sharp and the other side very jagged. The sharp side was designed to kill, but the jagged side was designed to torture.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be." The assassin said with a growl while he followed the man clad in black past Link's hiding spot, resting his sword on his shoulder. "You knew this would happen if you went against your word, and now it is my job to make sure you won't ever go against your word again."

Once the assassin had gone a few paces past his hiding spot, Link leapt from behind the tree with the Master Sword transfixed at the man's back. "It is you going against your own word that you should be worried about, brute."

The man spun around wildly at the sound of Link's voice, completely surprised by another's presence. However, once he saw it was Link standing there, he simply smiled and broke into careless laughter. "Ah, what have we here?" He exclaimed. "The Hero of Hyrule graces us with his presence! I do not have orders to kill you, but if you give me reason to, I will not hesitate to end your life. So, run along, Hero, your death will come on another day."

"Yes, I'm not dying today," Link retorted. "And I am sure as hell not running either."

"What's this?" The henchman said. "You come here to fight me? What is your plan, to protect that man? Hero, that man has already betrayed you, and he has just betrayed my master by coming back to you. He has no side, he is not worthy of life."

Link frowned. "What are you talking about?"

The henchman smirked. "Oh, you don't know?" He laughed innocently. "It figures that he would request your help without giving you the whole story."

Link could feel his sword arm droop slowly to his side.

"Don't listen to him!" The man clad in black hollered from near the gates to Ordon. "We have a deal, Hero! Remember your imp, I can save her, and no one else can! Give me a chance and I will explain everything… on my life, I promise!"

"Shut up, traitor, I'll get to you in a minute!" The henchman yelled in a booming voice that seemed to cause the very dirt beneath Link's feet shake with terror. "You see, Hero? Do you see now why he must be sacrificed? A man who cannot be trusted deserves to not be trusted. How can you know he won't do the very same to you again? Go on, Hero, this is your last chance. Flee now with your life or I shall take it from you. Although, it's not like doing so would cause much distress in Hyrule."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Link roared back, inadvertently letting his anger take control of him for a moment.

"Don't play naïve, you know as well as I that your presence in Hyrule has long overstayed its welcome. Do yourself and Hyrule a favor and let me kill you so that things can finally return to the way they should be."

Any indecision Link had been experiencing over fighting this man quickly disappeared. With those words, the fight had suddenly become personal.

Link took a few steps closer to the man so that he was almost close enough to strike, and then said, "How about you do me a favor and let me make Hyrule a better place." Link said with a growl.

The man smirked and designated his sword forward to touch the Master Sword near the tip. Then, in one fluid motion, he was down in his battle stance and staring down his prey. "If it is a fight that you wish," The man snarled. "Then consider that wish granted."

Link settled into his own battle stance while glaring at the man in silent observance. Taking a look at the man, it was hard to gain any initial knowledge about his fighting ability, though he definitely did seem to know what he was doing. He kept a low base, which obviously meant that his strikes were slow and powerful, so Link would have to counter with his agility because there was no way Link could match the man in strength.

"My name is Rowan." The man said with a roar before Link could make the first move. "And it shall be the last that you remember!"

With that, Rowan leapt at Link with a devastating jump attack. Link easily sidestepped it but he could feel the ground beneath his feet quake when Rowan's sword and arms hit the ground.

Link was preparing to throw a counter slash at Rowan as he lay exposed on one knee on the ground, but something unexpected prevented him from doing so. Behind Rowan's back, the man in the black cloak had thrown back his hood and was now charging at Rowan with a knife in his hand.

If the man thought he had Rowan fooled, he was wrong. Just as he was about to aim a cheap shot at Rowan's back, Rowan spun around to meet the man. He had dropped his sword and instead used both hands to wedge the knife out of the cloaked man's hands. Once he had the knife solely in his hands, he let his momentum spin him around again and stabbed the cloaked man deep in his left shoulder.

The man let out a deep gasp and fell immediately to the ground but still alive, with Rowan right on top of him. Rowan swiftly removed the knife from the man's shoulder and held it over his head for the killing blow. He hesitated for just a moment by saying to his prey, "You'll have to better than that, traitor." That hesitation gave Link just enough time.

Link charged at Rowan as the latter began to launch the final blow. Just as the knife was no more than one foot over the cloaked man's still-beating heart, Link tackled him to the ground. They toppled over one another a few times, but in the end, Link was on top of Rowan and had him on his back and pinned to the ground. Without much effort, Link knocked the knife free from Rowan's hands with the hilt of the Master Sword and nudged it out of reach of both of them with his foot.

Rowan, now completely unarmed, managed a feeble smirk as he lay beaten beneath Link's weight. "This changes nothing." He said quietly. "My Master will know of what transpired here and you will hear from him shortly, I can guarantee you that. The day will soon come that Hyrule will fall and the Hero will be dead."

Link managed a light smile as he raised his sword above Rowan's chest. "That day is not today."


	13. Brothers in Chains

**Chapter 13 - Brothers in Chains**

Link rose to his feet as he watched the life in Rowan's eyes slowly flutter away with his passing breath. Out of respect for his fallen, wayward brethren, Link gently closed the eyelids over the man's unseeing eyes, so as to terminate his body from the world once and for all and to let his soul rest in peace for all of eternity in the world beyond this one.

Killing was not something that he was fond of, but in times such as these, it is kill or get killed. Perhaps it was a gift or perhaps it was a curse, but the fact of the matter remains that Link's skill with a blade is second to no man. And all the hope of Hyrule in during these dark times lied in that skill, that power. In Link. Seared into the Master Sword now was the stain of another lost soul. The purest of all swords becomes tainted with the passing of each of Link's foes, yet it will forever more remain as the Sword of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword.

Link turned his back on his fallen enemy and instead tried to focus on the matter at hand. He swiftly crossed the field in front of his house to where the man in the black cloak still lay on the ground. At this point, Link got his first good look at the man's face and was not much surprised by what he saw.

The man had short, jet black hair that was sleek and unkempt, close to how Link envisioned him. He had an innocent-looking goatee that hardly covered his chin, black in color as well. His eyes were bright green and they stared up at the Hero with a look of pleading.

"Thank…" The man gasped with a mighty struggle. "You…"

The point at which he got stabbed on his right shoulder was noticeably damp with blood; even in his black cloak, Link could see the stain clearly. His face was growing paler by the moment as he continued to lose more and more blood.

"I didn't do it for you." Link said with a frown. "And now I think it is your turn to prove your loyalty once and for all. No more lies, no more assumptions. Give me your word now or I will leave you here to die."

"I…will explain everything." The man gasped. "Help me…into your house…there, I will tell you everything…everything that you want to know…and more."

Link truthfully believed that if he didn't act soon, his threat would become very real. The man's voice was frail and shaky, and his eyes fazed into and out of focus.

After a moment's hesitation, Link grudgingly held his hand down to the fallen man and offered him a hand up. "Keep some pressure of that wound." Link said softly as the man graciously accepted Link's hand and struggled to his feet. "Once we get inside, I'll do my best to stifle the blood flow. I'm afraid that's all I can do for you now. You'll have to hold on until we can get to the city where you can get proper healing."

"I will make it, Hero." The man gasped. Link allowed the man to sling an arm around his shoulder so that he could better stabilize himself as he made an effort to walk. "I am just weak…is all."

When the two had reached the ladder in front of Link's house, Link allowed the man to struggle up a few rungs himself, and then he bent down and grabbed one of the man's legs and propelled him up to the top of the plateau. He gasped mightily and it took great effort, but the man was able to pull himself up the last few feet of the ledge.

Link climbed up after him and helped the man to his front door. There, he knocked lightly on the door and said, "Colin? It's me, Link, open up."

As Link had been expecting, the door flung open almost immediately. Colin seemed nervous on the point of jittering, but his face lit up as soon as he saw Link's face. He didn't say anything but he stepped aside and allowed Link and the man pass into the house.

It did not take long for Link to find Midna. Colin had laid her down on the couch before he began his watch in front of the front door. Link picked her up softly and offered the spot on the sofa to the man to lie down. He then laid Midna down on a nearby chair gently.

"I cannot thank you enough…Hero." The man gasped as he graciously took the offer.

"Don't talk." Link frowned. "And keep pressure on that wound."

"Colin." Link said to the young man who, up until this point, had been standing off to the side and silently observing. "Get me a bowl of water, please."

Colin nodded slowly and hurried off into Link's kitchen. His many excursions into Link's house had laid in him an innate knowledge of everything that Link's house had to offer. He could recite every little crevice in the house in a split second, so a trip to find a clay bowl in the kitchen and fill it up with water from the Ordona Spring was no tall order for Colin.

As Colin rushed off in the direction of the kitchen, Link turned his attention back to the man on the sofa. His face was just about as pale as it was earlier, no worse yet no better. He kept a hand over top of his wound, which looked painful for him, but doing so would help somewhat stifle the blood loss for the time being.

Link had many bandages and cloth wrappings that he had for wounds such as these, but before he even attempted to find any, he looked the man in the eyes and asked the question he had been dying to ask for a while.

"Who are you?"

"You know who I am." was all Link got in return.

Link frowned. He had found a small roll of cloth in one of his drawers, and he began to unravel it. As he kneeled over the man and pulled back his cloak to expose the wound, Link replied, "Am I to assume that you will give me a straight answer once I heal you?"

The man laughed lightly. "You and I…understand each other well."

Only after Link had positioned the man's cloak out of the way did Link finally get a good observation of the damage which had been done. The knife had plunged deep into the man's shoulder and it continued to bleed profusely even now, but it could have been much worse. Had the knife punctured his body any closer to the center of his chest and the man may very well have died on sight. It would still be a long road to recovery, but at least there was the opportunity to recover.

The next moment was spent in silence as Link wrapped the cloth around the man's chest so that the wound was completely covered. It did not take long; after a couple minutes, Link put down the cloth he still had remaining and tested the wrappings by tugging on it gently. After he reassured himself that the cloth was snug, Link stepped back, returned the man's cloak back to its original position, and put the cloth he had left on the floor. He then stared at the man intently, his eyes asking the question that he had posed earlier.

Either the man recognized the question in Link's eyes or he knew that Link would ask it again soon, for he then said with a cough, "My name is Aaron…I believe you already know my name."

Realization washed over Link like cold water. He could almost feel the anger rise to his cheeks as he replied with obvious bitterness, "So you're the father to the new prince of Hyrule."

"Please Link," The man said quietly. "Let me explain…"

"So, that mage, your employer…He is Ganondorf, is he not?"

The man hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yes. But you don't understand what it's like! I was his slave, I couldn't get away!"

"No." Link said softly. "I do know what it's like. You've come to the wrong man if you're looking for pity. I think it is you who doesn't understand the risk I would have to take to trust you."

"Give me a chance!" The man said emotionally. "Let me prove my worth to you, let me tell my story, just give me a chance!"

At that moment, the front door opened once more as Colin returned with the bowl of water. Colin walked over carefully and offered the water to Link. "Thank you, Colin." Link said graciously. Link then turned toward the man and his demeanor instantly turned cold again. He offered the water to the man, but as he was doing so, he said, "It better be good."

The man smiled exuberantly and replied, "Oh, it is, thank you, Hero."

Link frowned sat down in the only remaining vacant chair, ready to listen. Instinctively perhaps, Colin sat down on the floor right next to Link's chair.

The life in Aaron's eyes had long since returned. His was losing blood now at a much less severe rate and his face was gaining more color with each passing second. He was able to talk freely by now, without the many gasps and coughs that he was experiencing before.

"I guess it all begins with one simple fact, Hero." Aaron said quietly. "One simple fact about me that may change everything but a fact that you should know. The fact that Nate and I…well, we're brothers."

Link gasped audibly. Of everything that Link had been expecting to hear, this proclamation was definitely not one of them. "You…" Link huffed, short of breath. "You're what?"

"He's my younger brother." The man replied calmly. "We grew up a very far way away from here, in a distant kingdom to the south. We were recruited, if you can call it that, by Ganondorf there recently."

"But…" Link stuttered, still at a loss for words. "Huh?"

"Relax Hero." Aaron said quietly. "Let me just say right now that neither I nor my brother are against you."

"Against me?" Link replied hotly. "Well let _me_ just remind you that just a couple of days ago, your brother, if I am to believe that story, turned his back on me and ran off with Ganondorf. Nate most certainly is against me, don't even try to tell me otherwise. As for you, I don't know, but if you are anything like your 'brother' then it would be a pretty safe bet to say that you aren't on my side either."

"We were collected by Ganondorf." Aaron replied coolly. "We did not have much of a choice other than to do what he said. We knew nothing of this kingdom, absolutely nothing, so at first we were able to execute our orders without much moral distress. Remember, it was not until a few months ago that we even knew that this land existed."

"And yet, here we are." Link said with a frown. "I don't know whether to call you a liar or call you a fool. After all I have been through with Nate, after he all but ruined my life, how the hell can you expect me to open my arms to his blood relations?"

"How about I tell you the rest of the story?" Aaron said gently. "If you still don't believe me then, fine; I will leave you in peace, and I won't turn on you like you suspect I will."

"Go on, then." Link replied rather harshly.

"We were just normal people, Nate and I, up until about a few months ago." Aaron started. "Just normal brothers. I am older than him by three years, a fact that I never forgot to remind him. We lived in a small farmhouse far away from any city, much like what you have here. The only difference is that we were the only family that worked on the farm. Just us brothers and our father. I never really knew my mother, she died giving birth to Nate when I was three."

"But that was when Ganondorf entered the picture." Aaron said grimly. "When he showed up on our farm that day, father greeted him as a potential costumer. It's easy to look back now and say that was a bad move, but he was desperate. The farm was not doing well and we needed all the money we could get. Anyway, Ganondorf entered and promptly seized my father. He kidnapped him, and forced my brother and I to follow him. He led us to a hideout of his in some damp cave."

"What did he do to you?" Link asked quietly.

"Well, first, he had my father imprisoned somewhere." Aaron replied. "Little did I know then, but I would never see my father again. Ganondorf blackmailed us into becoming his apprentices. Our subservience is what kept our father alive, as he said. If we refused, he would have had my father killed. We did not have much choice. So, in the following months, Nate and I trained. Ganondorf had us practice in the arts of deception and manipulation."

He paused. "Had I known then what he was up to, I probably would have refused to comply, even with my father's life hanging in the balance. But all I knew was fear. After months of dawn-til-dusk labor, Ganondorf finally revealed portions of his plan. He never trusted us so he never gave us the entire picture, but he had assigned Nate to you, and he sent me to Zelda."

"Alright, well, I suppose that does explain a lot." Link replied grudgingly. "But what made you turn your back on him?"

"I discovered the truth about my father." Aaron replied simply. "He wasn't imprisoned any longer. He was dead. Ganondorf had him killed without the intention of Nate or me ever knowing."

"That's horrible." Link replied softly.

"I knew then that I had to get away." Aaron said. "With nothing hanging over my head any more, I had a chance. And my chance to escape came when Ganondorf decided to reveal his presence to you."

"How?" Link asked.

"I was to be stationed in Hyrule when Ganondorf made his dramatic return." Aaron replied. "He gave you that riddle knowing that you would decide to go to Ilia in Ordon instead of Zelda. And while you were going to Ordon, he ordered me to kill Princess' father, the King of Hyrule. He thought that would be most crippling to you and to the Kingdom."

"You were to kill…the King?" Link asked, dumbfounded. Ganondorf certainly knew what he was planning, Link felt crippled just thinking about it.

"I could never bring myself to do that." Aaron admitted softly. "No amount of blackmail could force me to kill him. But, anyway, that distraction allowed me enough time to get away from his clutches."

"But, then…" Link said slowly. "Nate, does he know? You know…about your father"

"No." Aaron said in reply. "Or, at least, I don't think so. And it is my guess that, if he did know, he would be willing to leave Ganondorf as well."

"But how can we tell him?" Link asked.

"Now, that's the question right there." Aaron replied with a sigh. "I'm guessing Ganondorf won't allow him to leave his side, not after what I've done."

Link stared at Aaron intently for a few moments. His story did explain a number of things but it still seemed quite far-fetched to believe. But there was something about him that seemed genuine, at least more genuine than Nate. It is easy to look back and point out the flaws, but it is much harder to look ahead and recognize the same flaws when they appear. And for Link, it was a difficult choice, but perhaps this man and his assistance were worth the risk.

With a soft sigh, Link rose to his feet and said slowly, "Can you walk? We have a long journey ahead of us."

Aaron rose into a sitting position of the sofa and tried moving his limbs. He was able to do so with ease, although he still seemed weak. "Yes, I'll be fine." He replied as he too got to his feet. "Does this mean we're good?"

"Yeah." Link replied after hesitating for a split-second. "Let's go."


	14. Journey into Ambiguity

**Chapter 14 - Journey into Ambiguity**

Back on the road once more, Link had quite a bit to think about. His head got dizzy any time that he tried to think about everything at once, it was so bad. The line between the right decision and the wrong decision had long since been skewed into obscurity. With everything that has happened and is happening now, there was seemingly no way out; every path seemed to lead down into the abyss and there was no way to escape it. He knew that the void was rapidly enlarging and would soon envelope him if he did not act soon, but every possible action seemed to just take him further into the void.

Accepting Aaron as an acquaintance may have its consequences, but the risk was very much necessary in Link's mind. He may turn traitor as Nate had, but Link had decided immediately to not be so close to Aaron as he had with Nate; not become so attached. Perhaps he could milk out some information from Aaron himself, become the counter-spy, if indeed Aaron was a spy. And, if for nothing else, at least with Aaron at his side, Link actually felt like something was being accomplished.

Link, Aaron, Colin, and Epona with Midna strapped to her back ended up leaving Ordon immediately after Link had declared his trust to the desperate man. They readied themselves for a few grueling days of rapid travel, with the destination set for Hyrule Castle. Link urged them to travel quickly over a very significant portion of the day, for he wanted to cover the distance in two days. A momentous task considering that Link usually took around three days to make that trip solo, but time was at a premium now.

The trip would be hard, but it would be anything but boring. Link's house was still within range of sight when Link continued to shoot more questions at his new acquaintance.

"Well, you offered me useable information in exchange for your life." Link said matter-of-factly as the small group began to walk into Faron Woods. "I fulfilled my end of the bargain. Now, what secrets can you tell me of Ganondorf?"

"I can tell you much." Aaron replied softly. "I can tell you the tasks that he urged Nate and me to perform. I can tell you about his current location, although I highly doubt that information will be current anymore. I can tell you about his various plans and what he's accomplished since I met him. I can tell you what he's out to accomplish."

"Well, it would be best to start from the beginning." Link said quietly. "What was it that Ganondorf had you do?"

"Nate and I were each given a job by Ganondorf when he first snagged us. He did not give us much information when we first started, just what he wanted done. Nate's job was simple, and I'm sure you already know as much about it as I do."

"Make friends with me and then spit in my face." Link muttered quietly.

"Yes." Aaron replied softly. "That was the last day I saw him, the day he left to complete that mission. Any contact with either me or Ganondorf could ruin his cover so Nate was forced into the dark. That being said, Ganondorf always had men keeping an eye on him, making sure he didn't bail out on his duties."

"He had men spying on us while we were traveling together?" Link asked, slightly perplexed. "How did he manage that without me knowing?"

"Ganondorf can get the best spies in the kingdom." Aaron replied with a soft smile. "He could have spies on us right now and we wouldn't know."

That piece of information put Link slightly on edge. The resources that Ganondorf had at his disposal were vast and effective; they would have to find some way around them if they had any chance of bringing him down this time.

"Yeah, well, enough of that." Link said definitively. "You were sent to keep watch at the heart of the Hyrule Castle?"

"No." Aaron said with a soft sigh. "I was sent to create controversy. I was sent to father an unwed son of Hyrule."

"Are you saying that Ganondorf _wanted _you to do that?" Link asked, slightly surprised. "I thought that was your idea."

"No, those were Ganondorf's orders." Aaron replied. "He hoped that a pregnant Princess would cause people to question their loyalty to the throne. Which it would have, had you not intervened."

"When I took the blame." Link said.

"Yeah, Ganondorf was not at all pleased when he heard you had done that." Aaron replied. "Instead of breaking apart into small pieces, the citizens of Hyrule united together in their…well, I don't want to say hatred, but…"

"Hatred is a good word." Link said with a light smirk. "They united under their hatred of me."

Aaron frowned, but continued all the same. "Heroes come and go, but a Princess is and always will be a symbol of the kingdom. The people of Hyrule would gladly discard the name of a Hero to preserve the name of their leader."

"Even if it isn't true." Link said with a sigh.

"Especially if it isn't true." Aaron retorted with a smirk.

"Well, after you completed that task," Link said after a moment or two. "What did Ganondorf want you to do next?"

"At first, nothing." Aaron replied. "He had me do absolutely nothing for the next couple of days after I had returned to him from the castle. By this point, I was aware of my father's death, and I was determined to make an escape somehow. I couldn't at the time though, because Ganondorf, or one of his spies rather, always had his eye on me. The moment I made any move to escape, I'd be captured and probably killed. It wasn't until the day he returned that I made my escape, but even then, the spies managed to track me down."

"So, that man that I killed, was he…?

"Yes." Aaron nodded. "I could run but I could not hide. I knew that I did have much time to track you down. As soon as Nate returned to Ganondorf, the spy was on my case and was able to catch up to me by the time I found you."

Link took a moment to think in silence as the group passed the Faron Spring. Everything was starting to come together in his head, clearing out a number of foggy areas in his image of everything going on. Knowing is half the battle, as they say. Still, however enlightening all of this is, there are still many questions left unanswered.

Link continued to lead the group in near silence through the woods at a swift pace. His determination seemed to grow with each passing second, but his confidence was certainly wavering. In his last adventure against Ganondorf, he did not have to do much of the planning and the thinking. He was bossed around by Midna; he did not have to worry about anything other than the tasks she gave him. But only now that he had been thrust into Midna's role as well could he fully appreciate exactly how much she had done during their last adventure.

"Link?"

Link, who had been momentarily lost in thought, snapped his head to the voice and found Colin looking up at him expectantly.

"Will I see my mom and dad again?"

That question struck at Link's very soul, and he almost stopped in his tracks completely upon hearing those words uttered. Link did not stop, however, and kept walking as usual act as though he were unfazed by the question. Keeping Colin's morale high was important to Link, even if his own had reached an all-time low.

Among the hardest things to do in this world is to look a friend in the eyes and tell a lie. Link yearned to tell Colin that everything would be just fine, but even he knew that statement would be a lie. But it was the lie that Colin wanted to hear.

"Yes." Link replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "I will rescue them and the others and we will all return to Ordon. Everything will return to the way it used to."

If Colin felt any better hearing that reply, he certainly didn't show it. He simply continued to walk and stare at his feet without giving any sort of reply.

Link sighed softly and continued to walk as well. After a relatively uneventful day of travel, the group had managed to make it to South Hyrule Field before the sun had set, a very impressive feat considering that Link usually couldn't get that far on foot when it was just him and Midna in his shadows.

While Aaron set up camp, Link searched the land and foraged for wood and any food that he could find. Firewood was abundant in this area so there were no problems there, but finding food would prove to be much more difficult. There was no animal life in sight beyond the bugs that persisted to annoy, and it would be a waste of time this late in the evening to try to catch some fish in the lake. In the end, Link resorted himself to grabbing many handfuls of the fruits in the area, mostly small berries and some apples, and passing them off as dinner. He could feel a couple disappointed eyes on his back as he encouraged the rest of the group to eat up, but they really had no other option at this point. They could eat to their stomach's content once they reached the city.

While Colin sat and slowly ate his meager dinner around the campfire, Link went over to help Aaron finish setting up the tent. He had nearly finished already by the time Link arrived, but with Link's help, they finished putting up the last couple posts quickly.

Link dusted his hands off together with a sense of finality after the last post had been raised and said to no one in particular, "That'll do."

"You know that there is no way that all of us can fit in this tent, right?" Aaron said quietly.

Link looked up at him with eyes full of thought. Yes, Link too had figured this much out, and had formulated a hasty plan. "I figured that I would let you and Colin take the tent. Midna, too, if there is still room, but you two first."

"Well, what about you?" Aaron frowned.

"I can stay outside and take watch or something." Before Aaron could get a chance to retort, Link added, "Relax, it's nothing I can't handle. I've pulled all-nighters before."

Aaron's frown grew larger. "Ganondorf has no idea where we are and nothing else is endangering us at the moment. Why do you need to keep watch?"

"I don't need to." Link replied immediately. "But that's the only productive thing I can think to do while you two sleep. I won't be able to sleep very well on the ground outside the tent, so trying to do that all night will probably make me more tired in the morning than I would be if I stay awake all night."

"You'll need to sleep at some point." Aaron said. "You won't be able to find Ganondorf in one go."

"It's only one night." Link said as he began to turn his back. "I'll be able to get plenty of sleep once we get to the city."

With that, Link walked away and took a spot at the campfire next to Colin and grabbed an apple. His stomach desperately growled for food and vehemently rejected his feeble offering of a single apple, but it would have to make due. Colin had made quite a big dent into the food Link had foraged, and Link had to make sure that Aaron got a share of it as well.

Colin was characteristically quiet as he stared into the depths on the flame before him; he was sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees under his chin. A few minutes after Link had sat down next to him, Colin said hoarsely, "Link, I want to go to bed."

"Sure thing." Link replied in between bites of the apple. "The tent is yours. Pick whichever side you want but be sure you leave some room. Aaron will be sleeping in there as well."

Colin nodded quietly as he got up and walked over to the tent. He opened a flap to the tent and walked inside, and not another noise was heard from him for the rest of the night.

Link took another bite from the apple as he turned back to face the flame. Aaron had made his way over to the campfire by now, and he sat down next to Link and grabbed an apple of his own to munch on.

"Well, seeing as we have a bit more free time now," Aaron started after a minute or so. "I am willing to answer any more questions you have, if you like."

Link purposefully took a final bite out of the apple and threw the inedible core into the flame. Well, of course, he still had plenty of questions that he wanted to ask. But there was one question, one single bit of knowledge which he yearned to learn more than anything else. "No, there is nothing more I have to ask about Ganondorf at the moment. But I must ask you this. Were you telling the truth about Midna, back in Ordon? Can you really save her?"

"Yes." Aaron replied sincerely. "Well, actually, no. I personally cannot save her, but I do know the curse that has befallen her and I know that there are cures out there for this curse. It'll be tricky though, she won't heal overnight. It will take a very powerful spell to free her from this state. We will need to recruit the services of a very capable mage."

Link chanced a glance at Midna. She lay dormant at the foot of the tent, giving no incantation of life apart from her shallow breathing. "What has he done to her?" Link said as he turned back to face Aaron.

"It is an ancient, powerful curse that Ganondorf laid on her. It goes by the name _Eternal Slumber_; and well, you can see the effects. She exists is some state of limbo. Her soul is trapped in another realm while her lifeless body stays behind. If left uncured, she will sleep for eternity. Never given the grace to live, never given the mercy to die."

"Is it painful?" Link asked after a moment of thought.

"I don't know, I have never received the curse." Aaron replied. "And I doubt that you will find any living survivor of the curse in this kingdom; or any nearby kingdoms either, for that matter. This is an ancient curse, a dead curse. Its use has fallen out of practice of aspiring mages. It may be possible that Ganondorf is the only one who can cast it in current times."

"You said that we need the help of a powerful mage." Link said slowly. "Would Princess Zelda be able to help us?"

"If she can't, then there is no one in this kingdom that can help us." Aaron replied. "Don't worry though. I am confident that she can help. Thankfully, producing the counter-curse is not quite as difficult as producing the curse itself."

"Why is that?" Link said with a frown. It did not seem as if an ancient, unknown curse should be able to have a readily-made remedy.

"Mages created all-encompassing remedial spells long ago to prevent the effects of a great deal of spells and curses with a single spell, and the original remedial spell helped to counter the _Eternal Slumber_ curse, which was a popular choice among dark mages at the time. These remedial spells have been passed down from mage to mage and survived the test of time. Minor modifications have been made every once in a while, but those modifications served only to expand the curative powers of the spell and prevent against a new curse."

"So this spell is all we need to wake Midna?"

"Yes." Aaron nodded.

"Then why do we need such a powerful mage?" Link asked. "Surely even the novice mage knows this remedial spell?"

"I am afraid that it isn't quite so easy." Aaron said with a frown. "There is a direct link between the power of the mage and the power of the spell that he or she can cast. Ganondorf is a very powerful mage so he can cast a very powerful curse. Our only chance is to enlist the help of an equally powerful mage to break his curse. And it would not surprise me if Ganondorf added his own little twist to the _Eternal Slumber_ curse as well."

"What does that mean?" Link frowned. "Does that mean that there is a chance that this cure won't work?"

"No." Aaron replied immediately. "Regardless of any modifications Ganondorf made, this curse is still an _Eternal Slumber_ curse at heart, so the counter will work, I can guarantee you that. But…this is Ganondorf we are talking about. He went through the trouble of laying the curse; he will not let us break it so easily."

"What did you have in mind?" Link asked, perhaps a bit fearfully.

"I don't know, it could be any number of things." Aaron replied. "He could make it excruciatingly painful for Midna when she wakes up. He could plant a curse to possess and manipulate her to attack us when she wakes up. And, well…we have to consider the possibility that she will die when the curse is broken."

"What?" Link hissed. "You told me you could save her!"

"I'm sorry, Link." Aaron replied. "Truly, I am. I wish I could guarantee her return, but…but I just can't."

Link sighed and ran his hand lightly through his hair. "Care to tell me now of any other fudged details that you've given me?" He said after a moment.

"No, that's it." Aaron said sheepishly. "That was the only one." After a moment of awkward silence, he continued, "I'm sorry, Link. It's just, you asked me if I could save her, back in Ordon, and you asked me so fervently. I feared that if I told you that there is a possibility that she will die, then you would have left me to die."

Link sighed. "Yeah, I probably would have." He nodded with a slight grin.

"Look, the possibility is not great." Aaron said. "That is not Ganondorf's game, and I doubt he could even pull that one off if he wanted to. It would take a tremendous amount of power to pull off such a powerful combination of curses."

"Yeah, well, Ganondorf is a tremendously powerful man." Link replied with a frown.

Aaron frowned. "I'm sorry, Link, I should never have mentioned-"

"It's alright." Link interrupted. "I thank you for mentioning it. This is a very necessary piece of knowledge that you have given me, even if it is hard to take at the moment."

The two sat in silence for a couple minutes. The fire was starting to dim now and darkness had begun to completely envelope them. "Why don't you go get some sleep?" Link asked after another minute or two. "You'll be no use for me tomorrow if you are dead tired."

Aaron eyed Link suspiciously for a moment before getting to his feet. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Link replied with a frown. "Get in that tent already."


	15. The Note

**Chapter 15 - The Note**

Aaron gave no further complaint as he trudged into the tent to stay for the remainder of the night. Perhaps he was far too tired to argue further or maybe he realized it would be fruitless to go against Link's will when his mind was set. In any case, Aaron left for the remainder of the night, and Link prepared himself mentally for the long, sleepless night that lie before him. It would be easier once they started moving again. Perhaps, while he was actually doing something, he could ignore his depraved state of being, at least somewhat. While he sat here with nothing else to do, his eyes would beg for sleep and his will would surely be tested.

Link popped a couple of the remaining berries into his mouth as he walked to the other side of the tent. It was there that he left a pail of water to be used to put out the flame. It was a fairly large bucket and the water was filled to the brim, so Link had to strain his muscles somewhat to lift it and carry it back over to the fire.

In one fluent motion, Link launched the bucket forward and held it back abruptly, causing the water to lunge out of the bucket and onto the flame. The water hit the ground with an audible _splash_, but the aftermath was not quite what Link had in mind. The water had spilled out slightly off-line, and about half of the flame still burned strong.

"Curse my luck." Link muttered with a frown.

Perhaps a bit rougher than he had intended, Link bent down and grabbed a thick stick on the ground and doused it in the remaining fire to produce a makeshift torch for the journey back to the lake to grab more water. The torch in one hand and the bucket in the other, he began to walk swiftly in the direction which he knew the lake to be. The flame would surely eat through the stick in a short amount of time, so the journey would have to be quick.

Epona raised her head slightly as Link passed by. She had been in deep sleep on the ground next to the tent but instead of returning to sleep, she neighed softly at Link's passing, and began to shuffle her feet in an attempt to stand up and follow her rider.

"Shh, quiet Epona." Link said in a hushed voice as he passed her by. "I'll be right back, stay here."

Epona complied and Link hurried off away from the camp. Perhaps this was a good thing, Link began to think with an ounce of disdain. This ordeal would provide a good ten or fifteen minutes during which he didn't need to struggle to stay awake.

It did not take long to find the lake. The orange torchlight reflected brilliantly in the lake's calm water as Link carefully dipped the pail into the lake and filled it up once more. The journey back to the camp was equally uneventful. The stick he had been using as a torch was being rapidly consumed by the flame, and Link had to douse it in his pail of water before he got back to the camp because his hand would have been the next to burn had he not. This was not a great loss at all for Link however, as the campfire alone produced all the light he needed to get back to the camp. The torch was truly only needed to find his way to the lake, not back.

In a matter of minutes, Link had returned to camp and was ready to put out the flame once and for all. He held the bucket with both hands at his side, ready to dump it on the flame, but that is when he saw it. It was a subtle, innocent distinction, something that had been right in front of his face for the past few days and Link had failed to notice until now.

Link carefully set the bucket down and walked doubtfully over to Midna, who was in her slumber next to the tent. Indeed, his eyes did not deceive him from the distance; jutting out subtly from the interior of her black robe was the corner of a piece of parchment. How this major bit of evidence had eluded him for so long was beyond Link, but instead of pondering about that, Link reached down curiously and grabbed the parchment.

It turned out to be a note of some kind, scrawled neatly upon the parchment in bold, black ink. The note had been left unsigned, but it was painfully obvious who the author of this note was.

_My Dearest Hero,_

_I do hope that my return pleases you as much as I. I have very much enjoyed our time together, and I pleasantly await the grand times that lie before us. But in the event that you do not celebrate as I do, I come prepared with a gift of pardoning. You see, I have graciously returned your precious imp. This is a great act of kindness and sacrifice, and I hope you enjoy it._

_You may have noticed that she is not the way that she once was. All good things don't come free, as they say; it was a necessary precaution that I took, please understand. She is incurable in her current state by current medical practices. Fear not though, I possess the key to her revival. Heed my words, Hero, you may be convinced into thinking that there is a common cure for the state into which she had fallen. I am here to say that is a lie. The condition she has been thrown into, though similar to an ancient curse, is unique and has never been seen before. You need me Hero, all other cures will not revive her._

_I am a man of mercy. I will gladly reveal to you the cure to her condition. All I ask in return is that you come ask me in person. I look forward to our encounter, Hero. Do not make me come find you._

Link read the note three times, and he got angrier with each time he did so. The note was simply impossible to read without feeling the strong desire to throw something. The condescension was utterly unnerving. But then again, Ganondorf was never known to be a pleasant guy.

However difficult to read, the note had certainly answered some questions, yet raised many more. One thing was sure though, Aaron was right. Ganondorf had tweaked the curse which he laid on Midna to foil any attempt to revive her using the spell which Aaron had described. With no way to revive her, she might as well be dead now. Any assemblance of a plan that Link had in his head was completely shot now. Ganondorf definitely knew how to play all the angles, that much was sure.

Link carefully folded the note back up and walked to the front of the tent. After a moment's hesitation, Link opened the entrance flap to the tent and took a peek inside. Both figures were completely still, but that much was to be expected. Taking a deep breath, Link reached down and prodded the larger of the two figures roughly with his fingers.

Thankfully, it did not take much for Aaron to respond. "Hmm?" He said groggily as he turned onto his back. Either he was a very light sleeper or he hadn't fallen asleep yet, and it was most likely the latter.

"Get up." Link said in a hushed undertone. "I need to take to you."

Link took a step away from the tent and waited for Aaron to emerge. He did so in a matter of seconds, rubbing his eyes lightly and trying to shield them from the bright light from the flame.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked quietly after a few minutes adjusting to the light. "Did somebody find us?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Link replied. "I just found something."

"Well, can't it wait until the morning?" Aaron asked with a noticeable frown.

"I can't, this is not something I want Colin overhearing." Link responded.

"Oh, go on then." Arron replied with a sigh. "What is it?"

Link reached into his pocket and pulled out the note. "I found this on Midna just now. Ganondorf must have planted it there and I didn't notice it until now."

Link held out the note to Aaron, who took it and immediately started reading. Link could just see the understanding beginning to form in Aaron's eyes as he skimmed through the note. "This…" Aaron said after a few minutes. "This is bad."

"I know." Link nodded.

"I mean, this changes everything." Aaron said as he handed the note back to Link. "He did change the spell; he did make it so that we can't revive her."

"I know." Link repeated.

"And who knows what he'll do if you turn up at his doorstep asking for the cure…" Aaron said with a sigh.

Link nodded again looked down to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Link." Aaron said remorsefully. "I should have told you from the start, I-"

"I already forgave you for that." Link said with a frown. "Stop apologizing and let's look ahead."

"Right." Aaron said a nod. "Well, what do you reckon we do now?"

Link thought about that for a minute. Indeed, he had been asking that same question in his head over and over again from the minute he first laid eyes on the note. "Well, we should finish our journey back to the castle, first and foremost. At the very least, we can ask the Princess about it; see if she has any insight. And after that…" Link paused. "Well, I want to get Midna back, no matter what it takes."

"Are you suggesting that we prance up to Ganondorf, ask for his cure, and merrily be on our way?" Aaron asked with a frown. "How naïve can you get?"

"It doesn't have to be on his terms." Link replied softly. "Perhaps we can get the cure without him ever knowing we were there."

"A heist?" Aaron asked with a grin as he started rubbing his hands together. "Now that's more like it!"

"What can you tell me about where he is hiding out?" Link asked quietly.

"Well, he was using the Yeti Mansion near the Zora's Domain as his headquarters before I ran away." Aaron replied. "I figured he probably changed that since I left so that his lair would still remain a secret, but after reading this note, I'm starting to have second thoughts. It sounds as if he is unwilling to move, even though his hideout's location may be up in the air."

"He's at the Mansion? Hmm…this could be a good thing." Link said, thinking of all the nooks and crannies available in the mansion. It could be easy to find hiding places there. "Would he keep records of the spells he has cast?"

"I doubt it." Aaron replied with a frown. "But he does have a bookcase were he keeps all of his spellbooks. It's on the ground floor, in the study. And he tends to scribble notes into these books fairly often."

"So he may have written the spell down?" Link asked.

"No guarantees." Aaron replied with a frown. "But yeah, there's a chance. That would be our best shot, anyway."

"Would we be able to create a counter-curse if we find this curse?" Link continued.

"Should be able to." Aaron replied. "I don't know, that stuff isn't really my strong suit. If anyone can, Zelda will be able to do it, though. We'll have to ask her when we get to the castle."

Link nodded and took a moment to think. It was risky but it was their only lead at this point. And they would still have to find a way to get into the mansion, because the front door is the only entrance and Ganondorf, in all likelihood, stationed some sort of guard there. And after that, there would be the tricky business of sneaking across the mansion undetected.

"Hey, Link?"

Link came back to reality from his momentary haze and focused back on Aaron. "Huh?"

"I don't mean to sound mean or anything," Aaron said slightly hesitantly. "But you know that we can't pull anything like this off if we are still, uh…looking after your friends."

"Oh." Link said with a slight nod. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I got a plan for them for the short term. We'll have more than enough time away to do something like this, if we do end up paying Ganondorf a visit."

Aaron grinned lightly and dropped his gaze. After a moment or two of silence, he said, "I'm gonna go back to sleep now, if that is all…?"

"Oh, yeah." Link said a nod. "Yeah, that's it, thanks."

Aaron nodded and disappeared once more into the depths of the tent. Link, with a soft sigh, reread the note one final time before he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He had managed to kill a nice chunk of his restless night, but the majority of it still lay before him. And now that it was to truly begin, the silence quickly became deafening.

Link grabbed the bucket of water once more and prepared again to dump it over the still-burning flame. For a second time, he emptied its contents over the flame in one fluent motion, and this time, he hit his target. The light was expelled immediately, and the darkness was unleashed.

* * *

><p>"Link! Link, get up!"<p>

Link awoke with a start. His eyes snapped open but he had to immediately close them again because of the blinding mid-morning light. And as he sat upright and began to rub them gently, he suddenly realized all had gone wrong. Again, Link opened his eyes and looked around. The sun was almost completely above the horizon by now, and Link's back was throbbing after falling asleep on the rugged turf. "Ugh." Link said with a sigh. "Really wish I hadn't done that…"

His memory of the previous night was very hazy, but he did remember staying awake for a good deal of time. Exactly when it was that he fell asleep was uncertain, but he could only assume that it must have been not too long ago because his eyes burned like hell from lack of sleep.

Aaron smirked slightly as he reached down and offered Link a hand up. "Come on, then. We need to get moving."

"We're late." Link pointed out as grabbed Aaron's hand and let himself be tugged up to his feet. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"I figured if anyone needed a little time to sleep in, it was you." Aaron replied. "We already packed up and everything, and had breakfast too. You'll have to eat on the go."

Link looked around and indeed, everything had been cleared out. Colin and Epona stood nearby with Midna strapped to Epona's back. The tent had been condensed neatly and also lay strapped to Epona's back. They had even taken care to cover up the campsite. Of course, there were still traces that they were here, most notably the uneven ground where they tried to cover the campfire's remains with dirt. But from a distance, their prior presence would not be noticeable.

"Yeah, not a problem." Link muttered distractedly as he and Aaron caught up with Colin and Epona. And immediately, the group was on the move again.

Link's eyes simply pleaded for sleep as they trudged along but he would not give himself that luxury. Each step was a struggle, but as time wore along, he became so numb that he could not feel that struggle anymore. Not surprisingly, breakfast had turned out to be fruit again, and Link took pleasure in eating to distract himself from thinking about sleep.

Their pace today was not quite as fast as it had been the day before but they still made good time, and Link had no doubts that they would reach the castle by nightfall. By early evening in fact, they entered the narrow pass that connected South Hyrule Field with the entrance to the Castle Town. Getting there definitely would not be a problem now, but figuring out how to get in could turn out to be tricky.

"Hey Link?" Aaron whispered quietly. Link and Aaron walked next to each other, while Colin walked beside Epona a few paces ahead of them.

"What?" Link replied.

"I hope you thought of a way for us to smuggle you into the castle." Aaron said cautiously. "Because you know that they won't be very keen to let you enter, not after what you've admitted to."

Luckily, he had. "Yeah, I got a plan and I'm pretty sure it'll work." Link said. "I've got a full black robe that I'll put on before we enter the city walls. I've got only one person that I know of inside those walls whom I can trust. Her name is Telma and she owns a bar. We'll head over there and grab a bite to eat, which be very gratifying but will not be the primary reason we go there." Link then bent closer to Aaron and lowered his voice to a barely-audible level, to make absolutely sure Colin didn't overhear him. "This is who can look after Colin for a while."

"I see." Aaron nodded.

"I'll stay in the bar after dinner." Link continued. "But you will need to pull a few strings to make sure I get in. You will go to the castle; the guards won't recognize you and Zelda can vouch for you and let you in. Once you're alone with her, you will tell her the plan."

"Which is?" Aaron asked.

"You and Zelda will leave the castle, and you will both wear similar black robes." Link replied. "It doesn't matter whether you tell anyone or not, but what does matter is that you bring along with you a dummy. Someone who you have convinced to walk out of the castle with you in a black robe, but who will not return with you."

"Ah." Aaron replied as he realized exactly what Link was planning. "So he'll leave and you'll take his spot? Clever."

"To not cause alarm to the stationed guards, yes." Link nodded. "This way, no one will question my presence."

"But she's the princess!" Aaron replied with a grin. "Surely no one will question you if you're walking with the princess, no matter how suspicious you may appear?"

"Probably not, but all the same, I would like to make absolutely sure with this one." Link replied. "If she were caught escorting me, I would be locked away in a cell for the rest of my life and I don't even know what will become of her…exiled or something, probably."

"Too true." Aaron said lightly. "And Midna?"

"I'll have to smuggle her in under my robes." Link replied.

Aaron nodded, and even after a few minutes of thought, he could not think of any gaping holes in the plan. Trouble may come when they try to find a place to sleep, for they cannot simply take a free room in the castle. By all accounts, Link and Aaron will never be in the castle; they would certainly arouse suspicion to themselves if they were caught in a supposedly-free room. But no matter, they would leap that hurdle when that time came.

For now though, the group had arrived at the stables outside of the entrance to the castle. Link had Epona roped up to one of the free spots in the stables and he gradually removed everything that burdened her. He removed the loose-fitting body-length black robe from the small knapsack he had taken with him and put it on over top of his tunic. The robe was fabricated without sleeves for his arms, so he would be able to carry Midna inside the robe without drawing suspicion.

Colin was watching Link curiously but he did not put into words the question that his eyes so dearly asked. And after a few more minutes of Link adjusting his robes slightly, he drew the hood of his robe over top of his entire head and said, "Alright, let's go."

No longer the Hero of Twilight, Link became just another face in the crowd.


	16. Hidden in Plain Sight

**Chapter 16 - Hidden in Plain Sight**

Castle Town was bustling with activity. After a long day's work, the people within its walls were hurriedly returning back to their homes before nightfall fell upon the city. Shoppers and storekeepers alike roamed the streets, ready to call it a day. The number of people in the streets made it slightly more difficult to weave through the crowd without drawing any unwanted attention, but Link still had no trouble. What was slightly more troubling, however, was sight. He had drawn his hood over his head in an attempt to hide his face, but in doing so, also hindered his ability to see.

In any case, Link led the others across Castle Town, where the people were too busy and carefree to notice the shadow that walked amongst them. Link silently wondered to himself whether these people had even noticed the "meteor" (as it would have appeared to them) that had crashed into East Hyrule Field just a few days prior. It certainly seemed close enough for them to see, but the people seemed too unconcerned. Wouldn't something like that cause some panic? Perhaps the city walls shielded the people from view. Or maybe it was late enough in the evening when it had occurred that the object was shrouded by darkness this far away.

Once they entered the dank, deserted alley where Telma's Bar resided, Link felt safe withdrawing his hood. However, he still held Midna in one of his arms under his cloak as he opened the door with his other.

"Link!" Telma exclaimed, greeting him with her usual gusto. "And friends! Come in, come in, have a seat!"

Link gratefully stepped into the bar first, with the other two right behind him. "Evening, Telma." Link said politely as his took a seat at the bar. Colin seemed to be hesitant to enter at first, but when he saw Telma's familiar face, his hesitation was lost. He did not say anything but his face seemed to light up a degree as he took a seat at the bar.

"I've heard some strange things since you were last here." Telma said quietly as she fetched some clean soup bowls. "Now they say it is because of you that the princess has acted so strangely!"

"It is an entertaining tale, Telma, I am sure you will enjoy it." Link said quietly with a small grin. "But I am afraid that it is a tale for another day. I do not have much time."

After he said that, Link leaned over and whispered into Aaron's ear, "Now." Aaron nodded ever so slightly before rising from his seat and disappearing out of the bar.

Telma watched the strange man leave with an ounce of distrust, but she made no comment. However, in doing so, she caught a glimpse of Colin's bandages for the first time. "Oh, dear! What happened to you, Colin?" She said with concern.

Colin seemed hesitant to respond so Link jumped in for him. "Ordon was attacked, Telma. Colin and I are the only ones left. The rest have been taken as prisoners."

"Attacked?" Telma asked, slightly confused. "What do you mean? By goblins?"

"Whatever it was, I think it was worse than goblins." Link replied grimly. "But, as you can see, Colin took some injuries. I did all I could but I don't think they will heal completely until we get him to a doctor."

"Of course, of course." Telma replied hastily. "There are plenty of them around here, you must do so quickly."

Link took a wary glance at Colin before he replied, "Actually, Telma, I was hoping that you would be willing to look after Colin for a while."

Colin immediately turned to Link with a look of fear in his eyes. "Link?" He said quietly.

"Colin, listen to me." Link said apologetically as he reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I will find everyone and I will return them to Ordon. I will find your family. But it will be very dangerous. I cannot let you risk yourself, knowing what lies ahead. I will not lose you, too."

"But…" Colin said with a tear welling up in his eyes.

"Please, Colin." Link replied, and he could almost feel a tear coming to him too. "Do this for me. Telma will keep you safe. You know you can trust her."

Colin turned his head hesitantly to Telma, then back to Link again. Without saying another word, he jumped off his chair and engulfed Link in a large hug. "Come back soon." He said quietly as Link began to pat his back softly with his free hand.

Link gave him a reassuring smile and said, "As soon as I can."

The two remained embraced for a long time, at least ten minutes, until the bar's front door opened once again, revealing two, black-robed, hooded figures. They stepped into the bar quickly and one of them pulled back his hood to reveal his face. It was Aaron and he said hurried, "Link, we have to go."

Link looked from him, to Telma and back to Colin again. "I'll be back, I promise." Link said quietly before turning his attention to Telma. "Thank you for everything. It isn't much, but please, take this." Link reached into his pockets, took out three orange rupees and placed them on the bar counter.

"I can't accept this, Link." Telma replied, slightly taken-aback.

"It's the least I can do. Get a good doctor for Colin." Link replied with a smile as he, once again, drew the hood over his head. "Good-bye, Colin." With that, Link joined Aaron and the other black-robed figure who he assumed to be Princess Zelda at the door. They left the bar and Link closed the door promptly, before he got a chance to look back.

He sighed softly before following the other two out of the alleyway and back onto the main streets. Before, when he was the only one who was wearing a full-body robe, the people did even take a second glance at him. But now that there was three of them walking together, the people seemed wary, scared even. Link grinned inwardly to himself; he supposed that they did look like some kind of mythical cult or something.

The three of them navigated through the crowd and before long, they were crossing the bridge that led to the interior gates of the castle. "Halt!" One of the guards said as they approached. There were two guards, one at either side of the interior castle wall door, and one of them stepped forward. Link's heart stopped when he noticed that the guard was walking right towards him. The guard reached out his arm and Link closed his eyes fearfully. Any second now, the guard would remove his hood…

"They are with me!" Zelda growled as she removed her own hood.

Link whipped his eyes open to see the guard's hand mere inches away from his hood. But the guard quickly withdrew his hand and exclaimed, "Princess! I'm sorry, I did not recognize you." He bowed fervently and took a step back towards his post, and Link sighed in relief. "Open the gates!" The guard roared, and another guard on the other side of the door unbolted the door and opened it.

Zelda led the way onto the castle grounds with Aaron and Link right behind her. There were many guards out and about in the courtyard, many of whom were hidden in the shadows, but none of them caused any trouble. They allowed the Princess and her two strangely-dressed acquaintances to pass through unopposed. A guard stationed at the entrance to the actual castle opened the door for them as they approached, and closed it again once they entered the castle's main foyer.

Zelda continued to lead on through the maze of rooms and hallways within the castle, and thankfully too. Link had been to the castle a couple of times, but only once had he entered through the front door. And it was for that reason that Link soon became completely lost and utterly dependent on Zelda's direction.

They zigzagged through rooms, hallways and staircases, slowly but surely climbing higher and higher up until they entered the area of the castle where most of the bedrooms were located (which, to Link's displeasure, was near the very top). There were very few guards around this area of the castle, and for good reason, too. There wass no way to get to these rooms without going through the heavily-guarded lower levels, so to heavily fortify this area with guards seemed highly redundant. There were, however, still a number of butlers and servants who wandered the halls, even at this late an hour.

These people did little more than turn their heads as Zelda, Link and Aaron walked passed. Link and Aaron followed Zelda until she stopped in front of one of the numerous doors that lined the hallway's walls. She opened the door quietly and hurriedly urged the other two inside. After they did, she too stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

The room, as it turned out, was a vast bedroom. It housed two, four-poster beds, but in reality, it could have comfortably held at least five more, with more room to spare. The carpet was a forest green that matched the sheets on the beds and the curtains that led out onto a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. The room was abundant in all kinds of furnature; ornate wardrobes, night stands, mantelpieces, bookshelves and other pieces of furniture that Link could not even begin to describe. In the middle of the room lied a large, wooden table, big enough to seat eight.

As Link continued to take everything in, he heard Zelda say, "It's safe now."

Warily, Link removed his hood and Aaron did the same. He could not help but feel slightly cautious. The door did not have a lock and it just seemed too easy for someone to open the door without any of them knowing before it was too late. "Zelda…" Link said quietly as he shot a wary glance at the door. "Are you sure that it is safe here?"

"I just had this room booked under a false name." Zelda replied as she took a seat at the table. Aaron and Link did so as well while Zelda continued, "And I requested that no one come to disturb the room. You will be safe here for tonight and much of tomorrow. I am afraid to say that I will not be able to do that again tomorrow though."

Link nodded. That could become a problem. A few measly hours did not seem like enough time to convey to Zelda everything that was going on, and to come up with some kind of plan with her as well. "Alright, that will do for now." Link said after a minute or two. "We'll figure something out."

"What's going on, Link?" Zelda asked. "Why have you returned so quickly? The people are still on edge, you are lucky you were not caught."

"I know but this is a matter that cannot wait." Link replied grimly. Slowly, Link used one of his arms to pull up his robe slightly and the other to lay Midna down gently onto the table.

Zelda gasped. "Is that…?"

Link nodded, knowing who she was referring to.

"But…how?" Zelda said with disbelief. She was closely looking at the black figure on the table, as if trying to assert to herself that it truly was Midna.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Link said quietly, with a wry grin. "But there is something that you must know. The Prince of Darkness has returned."

"What?" Zelda said with a gasp. "How?"

"I am not really sure." Link said frown.

"But then, how can you be sure that he has returned?" Zelda asked.

"I saw him myself." Link replied. "I assure you that what I say is true."

Zelda took a minute or two to think. "I thought that this day would come."

Link nodded but he said nothing. Truth be told, he had also thought about the possibility of Ganondorf's return. As Zelda had remained quiet, Link said, "Ganondorf is the one who placed this curse on Midna. Aaron told me about a curse, the _Eternal Slumber_ curse, and said that it is possible that it was this curse that Ganondorf had laid on her."

"It certainly looks like it." Zelda said with a frown.

"Well, Ganondorf also left a note on her body." Link said, taking the note out of his pocket and handing it to Zelda. "And in it, it sounds as if Ganondorf has made some new modifications on the curse."

Zelda took the note and quickly read it over. "I wouldn't be so sure." Zelda said with a frown after she glanced over the note.

"What do you mean?" Link said quietly.

"It almost sounds to me like this is a new curse altogether, like this is a unique curse that he created himself." Zelda replied. She then placed a hand on Midna's exposed neck and held it there for a moment or two, as if she were trying to determine if she had a fever. "And that aside, I can still feel traces of Midna's soul in her body. If this were the _Eternal Slumber_, her body would be utterly lifeless right now."

"Erm..can you explain?" Link asked.

"When the _Eternal Slumber _curse is cast upon someone, his or her soul is sent to a spiritual realm to live in solitude until a cure is administered to the body." Zelda replied. "But I sense that is not the case here. I can still feel her soul, although it is very faint. I can only guess that it has been warped, twisted or trapped in some way."

"So, what does that mean?" Link said hesitantly. He had no idea how she could sense something as intangible as a soul, but he did not question her. "Can she still…hear us?"

"Yes, I think so." Zelda replied. "She is immobile but I believe most, if not all, of her senses are still intact."

Link could only frown as he looked at Midna's still body. Ganondorf wasn't satisfied with her just being asleep. He wanted her to feel everything that he put her through, and he wanted her to see her friends struggle to comprehend what was wrong with her.

"Can you revive her?" Link asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Not without knowing exactly what he did to her, no." Zelda replied apologetically, confirming Link's suspicions. "Without knowing what spell he has cast upon her, I would probably just harm her further if I tried to cure her. I will look through all the magical records that Hyrule has to offer; maybe I can find a past occurrence of something similar to what Midna is going through. I wouldn't get your hopes up, though."

Link nodded silently and said no more. In the silence, Zelda rose from her chair and said quickly, "I really must get back to my room. I fear I may have stayed here too long already. Rest up; we will discuss this matter further tomorrow."

Link nodded once more and watched as the Princess left the room. In the subsequent silence, Midna's faint breaths were clearly audible. They were short and perfectly regular, almost eerily so. It truly did look like she was fast asleep.

Link looked over at Aaron, who had remained silent up until this point. He was staring off into space, apparently lost in thought. Link, slightly sarcastically, said, "Any ideas?"

Aaron shook his head slightly. "I've got nothing." He said.

"There's got to be something we can do…" Link muttered rhetorically.

"Not to be rude, Link, but you have absolutely no clue what's wrong with her." Aaron said bluntly. "Even if you did, you'd need to match Ganondorf's power to have a chance of reviving her. And no disrespect, but Ganondorf has trained many years to perfect his magical abilities, and I doubt you even have any."

Link should have felt insulted, but one part of Aaron's small rant stuck out in his mind. "Ganondorf's power…" Link muttered, and his thoughts instantly raced back to a couple of days ago, when Ganondorf had made his presence known to the Hero. Ganondorf would not give a straight answer as to how he was able to come back, but he heavily hinted at the Triforce as the source of his power.

"Of course, he is incredibly powerful." Aaron replied, slightly annoyed. "That kind of power isn't something that can be taught or learned."

"Maybe so." Link said quietly as he looked down at the back of his hand, where a faint outline of the Triforce was visible. "But I draw from the same source of power as he does."

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, perplexed.

Link lightly traced the Triforce's outline with a finger from his other hand, silently wondering how he could draw from its energy. With no discernible answer to that question, Link answered Aaron's. "Ganondorf claims that the Triforce is the source of his power. I, too, possess a fragment of it. Perhaps, if I can learn how to control it, I could reverse the damage that Ganondorf has done."

"But where could you learn to do that?" Aaron asked. "It's not like you could consult any master. You, Ganondorf and Zelda are the only ones who have ever possessed such a powerful object, and Ganondorf is the only one who has managed to exploit it."

"I have to try." Link replied quietly, and it was true. The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Ganondorf would let evidence of his curse escape his clutches. The paper on which he wrote down the curse, if he ever actually did write it down, would have been burned or locked away somewhere safe by now. Ganondorf wouldn't risk something like that getting away.

Slowly, Link reached out with his hand and placed it on Midna's forehead. Aaron watched on with anticipation, but nothing dramatic happened. Link did not feel any different and the Triforce on his hand remained as impassive as ever. And Midna remained motionless.

But then, Link began to hear a strange, faint noise. Well, not so much heard it as he could feel it, reverberating through his soul. It was Midna, and she was screaming. For what reason, Link had no idea, but her voice seemed distant, as if there was a stone wall separating her and Link. The high-pitched scream soon became difficult to listen to, so Link withdrew his hand.

"Anything?" Aaron asked quickly. Evidently, Aaron was not aware of anything that had just transpired.

"Nothing." Link lied. He was actually surprised that Aaron believed him, for he had made no attempt to hide his expressions while he was listening to Midna. Even now, he was distracted and lost in thought, and personally, he thought he must have looked very strange.

But Aaron still believed him, or at least chose not to question him further. Instead, he said, "Worth a try, I suppose. Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed, don't stay up too late."

Link glanced at Aaron as he walked over towards one of the beds before turning his attention back to Midna. What did it mean? Link wasn't even sure that the Triforce had anything to do with this. Maybe this was how Zelda knew that Midna's soul was still inside her body. That was Midna's soul that he just felt, he knew it, and she was suffering greatly. Her soul seemed so distant, suppressed even. As if it had been locked away in some kind of prison cell.

But whatever it was that confined her, Link was powerless to stop it. He still had no clue as to how he could use the Triforce to help her, and his touch only passed on some her agony onto himself. Link desperately thought back to the few, subtle hints that Ganondorf had given him but they did not seem useful, or even relevant for that matter. Ganondorf had told him that he simply needed to wake her up as if she were sleeping, but it was quite clear by now that Midna was not sleeping in the traditional sense. How can someone who was forced asleep by supernatural forces be made to wake up?

Link's head hurt just trying to think about that question. Link gave Midna's body one last remorseful glance before he decided that it was time to call it a night. After attempting to put this matter in the back of his head for now, Link lied down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began what would become a long, restless night.

* * *

><p>Link awoke with a start the next morning. Somebody was tapping his shoulder lightly and saying something, but Link was making a valiant effort to ignore it. He was still very tired and understandably so, as he had spent much of the last night tossing and turning. And when he did manage to fall asleep, his dreams were haunted by strange, distorted figures, all of which had glowing Triforce etchings on their hands, as if taunting him.<p>

Whoever was trying to wake him was persistent. Link grunted and rolled over to his other side in a vain attempt to elude the constant prodding. Finally, after hearing an excessively-loud "Link, get up!", Link finally resigned himself to the fact that this would not disappear if he just ignored it, and he began to get up. He sat upright at the edge of the bed and yawned, looking the two people who had gathered at the side of his bed. Aaron was standing closer so Link had to assume that it was him that was trying to wake him, and Zelda was standing a few steps behind him.

"'Morning." Link said casually as he yawned again. Although, when he took a look outside through one of the nearby windows, he had to guess that morning had already come and gone. The early-afternoon sun glared down on him from above his head.

"They've found Epona." Zelda said quietly.

"Huh?" Link said distractedly. He had noticed a small tuff of his hair was standing up out of place, and he was carefully trying to get it to lie down.

"They've found Epona." Zelda repeated, a bit sharper. "They know you're here."

"What?" Link gasped as if he finally understood what she was saying. "What are you talking about? Who knows?"

"My guards." Zelda replied carefully. "They found her tethered outside the city walls and presumed that you had entered the city. They are actively searching for you now."

Link silently cursed to himself. Retrospectively, he probably should have been more careful with Epona. But frankly, he had no idea that anybody would even be able to recognize her as the steed of the Hero. "What have they done to her?" Link asked quietly.

"They are keeping her under watch with the rest of the guards' horses." Zelda replied.

"Is there anything you could do to get her back?" Link asked hopefully.

"Without drawing a lot of suspicion, there is nothing I can do." Zelda replied.

Link clenched his fist and vehemently pounded the side of his bed in his frustration. "I can't leave, Zelda, not now." He declared stubbornly. "Not yet."

"You have the entire city looking for you." Zelda said shortly. "And the longer you stay here, the harder it will be for you to get out."

"And outside the city, I have Ganondorf searching for me!" Link countered hotly. "And no disrespect to your guards, but I'd rather take my chances with them while I come up with a plan than try to face Ganondorf unprepared."

Zelda seemed taken aback, perhaps because it wasn't often that she was spoken too with such emotion. But if that did bother her, she did not say it and she just said, "I was afraid that you'd say that."

"Will you be able to hold us here a little longer?" Link said softly, his voice easing up dramatically.

Zelda sighed and turned to leave. "You should be safe here in the castle for a couple more hours." She said as she opened the door. "I'll be back before long to take you somewhere that you can get some privacy. After that, I suggest you leave the castle."

"Thank you, Princess." Link said hastily, bowing his head slightly.

As soon as Zelda left the room and closed the door behind her, Aaron asked quietly. "Are you sure you're making the right choice here?"

"It's the only choice I have." Link replied with a sigh. "Zelda must be informed on this. And that aside, this may be the best shot I have of finding a cure for Midna. The only other option would be to beat it out of Ganondorf, and I'd rather not try that."

Link looked up and saw that Aaron did not seem entirely convinced. "You don't need to worry." Link said reassuringly. "It's me whom they are after. You'll be fine."

"I doubt that they will kindly let me walk if I am found to be traveling with you." Aaron said with a frown.

"You won't be traveling with me." Link replied simply.

"What?" Aaron said with a gasp. "Why not?"

"First of all, because of the reason you just mentioned. Anyone caught and found to be associated with me will also be locked up, I presume." Link said. "But, more importantly, because I still don't know if I can trust you."

"Don't know if you trust me?" Aaron replied angrily. "I gave you all that information, I traveled with you all this way, and you still don't trust me?"

"You would be traveling with me even if you were planning on turning on me." Link replied sharply. "And, let's be honest, your information hasn't exactly lived up to expectations."

"Ok, I admit it." Aaron sighed. "I lied. I do not have a lot of information for you. Ganondorf never trusted me to begin with, he never would have given me any information other than what he considered essential to my mission. But, that aside, I did what I had to do to gain your trust. You saw what would have happened, Ganondorf sent an assassin my way because of my treachery. I was a dead man if I could not convince you to help me. And now that you have spared me, my live is yours to command." Aaron finished his sentence with a small bow.

"I don't want to command you." Link said dismissively. "All I want is to know that I can trust you."

"What the hell do I have to do?" Aaron replied, growing frustrated.

"You could start by respecting my decision." Link shot back.

Aaron's face visibly dropped. "Fine." He said with a frown. "You want to do this all on your own, fine. So, you just want me to sit back here and wait for your valiant return?"

"Perhaps." Link replied indifferently. "I must speak with Zelda, perhaps she will have a use for you."

Aaron laughed mockingly. "Oh, so now I'm not even welcome to sit with you while you meet with the Princess. What about last night? You allowed me to stay with you then."

"Nothing was said last night that you did not already know." Link replied deftly. "I must now speak with Zelda about moving forward. And that is not something that I want to end up in the wrong hands."

At first, Aaron looked to be on the verge of exploding. His cheeks were growing redder by the minute and his entire body was becoming flustered. But after a minute or so, he let out a great sigh and the color faded away from his face. "Well, I'll just go take a nap then, seeing as I have nothing else better to do." He said tartly as he plopped himself on his bed.

"I'm sorry." Link said with a frown. "But it must be this way."

Link sighed lightly when Aaron did not reply. He lay quite still on his bed, but Link knew that he wasn't asleep. His breaths were short and erratic, much too irregular for a sleeping man. All the same, Link acted as if he was asleep and got up from his bed as quietly as he could. He saw his black full-body robe resting on the back of a chair and picked it up. He probably wouldn't need it, at least not until Zelda returned, but he decided to put it on anyway.

After he had done so, he took a seat at the table. Midna was still on top of the table in the same position as last night, but Link hadn't expected any different. Slowly, he picked up her unmoving form and placed her in his bed and covered her with the sheets. It was a stretch, but if anybody walked into the room with her laying on the table, they would surely notice right away. With her under the sheets, perhaps they would never see her.

Just then, he heard a knock at the door. The door opened slightly and Zelda poked her head inside. She said in a hushed whisper, "Come quickly."


	17. A Change of Plan

**Chapter 17 - A Change of Plan**

Link, who had thought that Zelda would not be back for a couple more hours, was grateful for her prompt return. Still, he could not help but feel slightly confused by this as he followed her out of the room and back into the hallway. Zelda had continued walking without stopping to wait for him, so Link had to hurry to catch up to her quick pace.

Zelda led him through a network of hallways and up a few staircases until he they had reached an area of the castle that he could fully recognize. It was a large spiral staircase, made of bare stone. There was a small window up high on the wall, and this was a window that Link was very familiar with, having entered through it on a number of occasions. And up at the top of the staircase, there was a large door that Link knew to lead into the Princess' chambers. Zelda opened the door once they had reached the top of the stairs, and she stood aside to let Link into her chambers. She followed him in and closed the door behind her, making sure to bolt it as well.

Once safely inside, Link drew back his hood. Zelda had taken a seat at her table so Link followed and sat down across from her.

"Aaron is not coming?" Zelda asked quietly as Link sat down.

Link shook his head. "I'm not sure if we can trust him. Not yet, at least."

"If this has anything to do with him leaving me…" Zelda said, her voice trailing off.

"No, it's not that." Link replied. "It's just…his past, what he's done…he needs to prove to me that he has changed first."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked hesitantly. "He is just a servant that my father hired, with hardly anything to his name. Surely you don't think that he could be a threat?"

"You mean…he never told you?" Link asked quietly.

"Told me what?" Zelda replied quizzically.

"Zelda, Aaron worked for him…" Link said a sigh. "For Ganondorf."

Zelda stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. She had a strange look in her eyes, as if she was trying to tell herself it wasn't true. But it was in a losing effort. She soon acknowledged that what Link said must be true, and any other lingering doubts in her eyes turned to repressed spite.

"Aaron was working for him…the entire time?" Zelda said as indifferently as she could.

Link shuddered at her cold voice. He had never heard her speak that way before. It was reasonable though, Link came to realize. She had just learned that anything that had existed between her and Aaron was completely forged, even though the real effect lived on and continued to grow in her womb. And even though he could not even imagine how she might feel right now, Link, perhaps slightly selfishly, tried to change the subject to what was most relevant in his mind. "Yes." He said quietly. "But Zelda, we…"

"I think it is time for him to leave." Zelda said abruptly, interrupting Link mid-sentence.

"What?" Link gasped, startled by her sharp response. "Zelda, he can help us in a way that almost no one else can. I know it must be hard for you…"

"Hard?" Zelda exclaimed, finally showing some emotion through her previously-stoic behavior. "I've been betrayed by the same man twice now while I carry his unborn son around, and that is just 'hard' to you?"

Link wanted to say that he really only betrayed her once and that she had not gotten the full story at first, but he bit his tongue. He could only imagine how she would react if he said that. "I'm sorry, Zelda." Link said sheepishly, bowing his head slightly. "I meant no disrespect."

Zelda swiftly jumped out of her chair and turned to look out her window, but Link caught a glimpse of a small tear welling up in her eyes before she did so. "This is…a nightmare." She said with a sigh.

Link could only feel pity as he looked at her. She continued to stare out the window, perhaps in an attempt to hide her face from him. And it was for this reason that Link almost felt sick of himself as he said, "But Zelda, Ganondorf…"

"Ganondorf is not high on my mind right now." Zelda snapped. "I cannot do this right now, Link. You have no idea what this is like."

"I am the father of that child, or at least, that is what all of Hyrule thinks." Link replied coolly. "I think I know a bit about forged relationships."

Zelda felt a stab of pity as she remembered exactly how much she had put him through. She finally turned around to face Link again and said softly, "I'm sorry, Link." She shamelessly wiped a tear off of her face as she gave a light smile.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." Link said dismissively.

Zelda cautiously took a few steps forward and sat back down at the table. "Well," She said awkwardly. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

She had given her consent, but Link could tell, now more than ever, that she did not want to talk about Ganondorf's return or any possible plans moving forward, or anything else for that matter. Her mind was in a completely different place right now. And he knew that, even if she did force herself through the conversation, she would not retain much of it.

Link sighed lightly as he said, "I think you're right. We need to do this some other time."

"What are you going to do?" Zelda asked quietly.

"Well, first and foremost, I would like to try to revive Midna." Link replied. In truth, he probably would have chosen this choice of action anyway, even if Zelda did not approve. "She would know what to do. I'm not giving that too much hope, though. And after that, with Midna or without her, I guess I will have to start chasing down Ganondorf."

"Be careful." She said with concern.

"One thing is all I ask." Link said. "Please, allow Aaron to stay here. I know you will not want to, but if what he says is true, then this is probably the safest place for him to be. If he did indeed betray Ganondorf, I am certain that Ganondorf would like nothing less than to exact his revenge. Out in the wild, he will be exposed. But Ganondorf would have to be foolish or arrogant to attack Hyrule Castle now."

"Yes." Zelda replied concededly. "I suppose that we must keep him around for now, if he is as important as you say he is."

"Thank you, Princess." Link said with a small smile. "You could just get him a room now, right? It should be easier without me around. And you won't even need to see him again after that."

"Yes, it should be." Zelda replied distractedly.

Link nodded slightly as he rose to his feet. He drew his hood back over his head and said, "Could you lead me back to the room?"

"Link, wait." Zelda said quietly, halting Link as he began to rise from his seat. He looked back at her curiously as she continued, "Thank you. For everything."

Link had no idea what she was referring to, but he smiled nonetheless and replied, "It's been my pleasure, Princess."

Without another word, Zelda stood up from her seat and began to walk out the door, with Link right behind her. They walked back down the stone staircase, through the maze of rooms and hallways, until they had reached the room that Link and Aaron had slept in the night before.

At the door, Zelda stepped aside, allowing Link to open the door and walk inside. Aaron was, to nobody's great surprise, still lying stubbornly on his bed, but his head rose when Link stepped into the room. "Done already?" He asked as Link stepped inside and started packing some things together at the side of his bed. "You weren't gone long. Did Zelda have any insight for you?"

"We didn't get a chance to talk about it." Link muttered quietly, although Aaron did not seem to hear him.

In the absence of an audible answer to his question, Aaron turned to Zelda, who had walked into the room and stood passively next to the door, and said, "Hello, Princess."

Zelda did not give him a reply; instead, she gave him a sharp glare before turning her eyes away from him.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked quietly to Link, his eyes full of bewilderment. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I'd count yourself lucky that she's allowing you to stay here." Link mumbled under his breath, but his response again did not fall upon Aaron's ears.

But he heard another's response. "Wrong?" Zelda exclaimed, her voice cold and sharp. "Do you not consider working for Ganondorf as 'wrong'? Is using the Princess of Hyrule like some damn puppet not 'wrong' to you?"

Aaron silently cursed under his breath as he ran an idle hand through his short, black hair. "Link told you about that, huh?" He sent a sharp glare at Link.

Link simply looked down at his feet. "I didn't mean to." He muttered pathetically, which was sort of true. But his response again fell upon deaf ears.

"And he was right to!" Zelda shot back, continuing on as if Link had not said a word. "So now I can add conspiring against the Princess to your list of 'wrongs' too."

The scene suddenly became incredibly awkward for Link. In the midst of their fervent argument, they seemed to have completely forgotten that Link was still in the room. So Link had taken on the role of an uncomfortable eavesdropper; these words were not meant for his ears and he never wanted to hear them. He tried to tune their voices out, but their argument had grown heated and was hard to ignore. He had resorted to packing his few possessions in the noisiest ways that he could think of in an attempt to drown out their voices, but he could still hear every damned word that passed out of their mouths.

"I had no choice." Aaron replied hotly. "I never wanted anything to do with this. But Ganondorf…he drew me in. He gave me this task, he commanded me to win you over and gain your trust. But I didn't want to do it, Zelda, I swear it!"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Zelda asked tartly.

"Uh…that came out wrong." Aaron replied quietly, his cheeks growing slightly red. "What I meant to say is…that I very much want to gain your trust, and more if you would let me, but…I didn't want to have to betray that trust. You deserve better than that."

Link, having brought so few possessions, had finished packing in almost no time at all. That meant that, with nothing else to do, he had no more distractions to keep his attention off of their painful conversation. The thought of leaving the room immediately without saying his good-byes to either of them had crossed his mind. Certainly, neither of them would notice, as fixated as they were on each other. But Link knew that he would stick out far too much to the guards of the castle as he passed through the hallways to the exit. That, combined with the fact that he probably couldn't even remember how to reach the exit again, made him quickly discard that idea. He needed Zelda as a guide and steward if he wanted any chance to leave the castle, even if it meant sitting through this whole argument.

Link felt himself growing weary as he watched the two trade shots at each other and allowed himself to fall back onto his bed. He soon realized that he was not the only forgotten one in the room though, as he had nearly sat right on top of Midna. He quickly jumped up to make sure that she was alright before sitting back down closer to the edge of the bed, taking more care for her safety this time around. She had not stirred in her slumber, but Link, more out of habit than anything else, made sure he gave her plenty of room.

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched scream began ringing through his ears. Link soon realized that this scream was very similar to the one he heard just last night when he had touched Midna's forehead. Link looked all around and proved to himself that he wasn't touching her in any way, but still the scream went on. He could only assume that he had accidentally touched her just a second ago when he almost sat on her, but that was no consolation. The screaming still went on even though the connection could not have lasted more than a second.

The ringing in his ears caused by the noise soon developed into a very sharp pain, and Link squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands in an attempt to dull that pain. At first, his efforts were thwarted and the screaming continued. But soon, the noise began fading away, and in its place came some sort of grotesque image. Link had his eyes shut, but somehow, this image appeared to be right in front of his eyes. It was a dark, shadowy scene, at first; Link tried to convince himself that he was simply looking at the back of his eyelids. But he was soon proved wrong, as a large, dark-brown figure was emerging in the darkness. Link had no idea what it was, but it definitely was not human. It walked on two feet, but it was covered all over in long, matted dark-brown hair. It almost resembled a bear that had reared up on its two back legs, although it was far more sinister than that. But its most fearsome feature undoubtedly was its sharp, glaring, dull-red eyes.

As stunning and confusing as the strange figure was, Link did not even get a chance to examine it in all of its terrifying wonder before it was swallowed completely by shadows again. Link, once more, found himself staring into complete darkness. It resembled the darkness he saw whenever he closed his eyes, but he knew this time that it was not the back of his eyelids. As if he needed more proof, Link realized that he was unable to open his eyes at all. Indeed, his whole body was completely immobile at this point, as if he were in some sort of trance. With nothing happening in the passing seconds, Link silently wondered how he would ever get out of this. But, right on cue, the entire scene began to shake and his trance was breaking. But before Link regained his consciousness, a loud, booming voice resounded through his ears. It said simply, _"He watches."_ And with that, Link's eyes sprung open.

Link was sweating and panting lightly as he tried to shake himself awake. It was almost like a dream, what he had just gone through; he had absolutely no idea how much time had passed in the real world during his vision. But by the fact that Aaron and Zelda were still arguing, he knew that it could not have been long.

With no interest in listening to the other two bicker, Link rubbed his eyes lightly as he tried to make sense of what he had just seen. The image itself was mysterious enough to hold his attention for days, but what had Link's attention more was the cryptic message at the end. The bearer of the voice was undeniably Midna, but she sounded nothing like the way she sounded as she screamed in the beginning. Her voice was not fearful or cautious. It simply sounded angry.

The message and the image were related, that much was clear, but Link was completely perplexed as to how so. What was this creature? Does it even exist? And, in response to the last message, who watches what?

"Link?" He heard someone say, interrupting his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Link's head begun to feel dizzy, and he felt sure that he was swaying slightly in his seat. In truth, he did not feel alright, but instead, deeply disturbed. Even so, Link slowly looked up face the others and said, "I'm fine. A little tired is all."

He tried to give them a reassuring smile, but by the looks on their faces, it was obvious that they did not buy it. Somehow, they had come to the silent understanding that their quarreling was to come to a halt, at least temporarily, for the sake of Link. Link was very grateful for this, even though it mostly aroused from their pity on him.

"I'm fine." Link reiterated dismissively as he stood up. "And I'm ready to go. Zelda, can you lead me out of here now?"

Zelda gave him a long, hard look without saying a word. She then glanced at Aaron for a split-second before saying, "Come."

"What about Epona?" Aaron asked quietly as Link grabbed his bag and began picking up Midna.

"It would be too risky for me to try to reclaim her now, with the number of guards out there looking for me." Link replied regrettably as he sighed deeply. It was hard to think about Epona. "I'll have to go on foot this time."

"I will try to free her while you're gone." Aaron said quickly.

After Link had grabbed his stuff and positioned Midna in one of his hands underneath his cloak, Link turned around and gave Aaron a quick smile. "Good idea." He said. "And thanks."

Aaron gave Link a slight nod, and Link took this as his cue to leave. Link turned to Zelda and said, "Lead on." With that, Zelda opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, and after Link had drawn his hood over his head, he followed her.

Link followed Zelda down the somewhat-familiar path back to the entrance of the castle. His cloak certainly drew the ire of the on-looking guards, but with the Princess walking right beside him, none of them caused any trouble. At one point during the journey, Link overhead a portion of a conversation between two guards that went something like, "…good hider, I'll give him that. My sister claimed to see him yesterday, draped in black, but she was probably just blubbering on, as usual. Does make me wonder, though…"

Fortunately, they rounded a corner at that point, so Link was able to escape the guard's suspicious looks. It was not much further to the exit from there. In the matter of a couple minutes, they were crossing the bridge out of the castle and into the city below. It was high noon by now, and the people of the city crowded the streets. Shops were buzzing with activity and street performers surrounded the busy alleyways.

"Whenever you come back to the castle, send a postman up to get me." Zelda said quietly as they came to a halt next to the fountain in Castle Town's central square.

Link noticed that there were many guards patrolling the streets, so he dared not remove his hood yet. He nodded slightly under his hood and said quietly, "I'll be back soon."

"Good luck." Zelda replied. With that, the Princess turned around and began to walk back up to the castle. Link watched her go, silently wondering how long it would be until he returned to the castle. He only planned to try to figure out how to revive Midna, but only the goddesses knew how long that would take.

And even though Midna was his priority at this point, there were so many other thoughts clouding his judgement. There was Ralis, living in near solitude with the Zoras. Did he know of the oncoming threat? Should he be warned? There were also the citizens of Ordon, who were captured by Ganondorf after their homes had been razed. He had to rescue them, but where they? And then there was Ilia. After all this time, Link had to assume that Ganondorf had found her and she was reunited with her friends and family. But she had left Ordon before the attack, so there was still a chance that she was out there, somewhere. And then, of course, there was Ganondorf. The source of all of this uncertainty. What is he after?

"A rupee for a frail, old man?"

Link was jarred from his thoughts by an elderly beggar, who held his hands out expectantly. Link could see the anguish in the man's eyes, and he reached into his pocket and placed a yellow rupee in the man's outstretched hands.

"Many thanks, friend." The man said weakly as he put the rupee in his pocket and walked away.

Link watched blankly as the man shamelessly approached the next-nearest person, asking for more money. Soon, though, a couple of guards arrived on the scene and attempted to apprehend him. The man had clearly experienced such an action before though, and had grown adept at countering it. He was able to quickly navigate through the crowds at a pace that was at least twice as fast as his pursuers could manage, and he soon disappeared down the path to the southern part of town.

Watching him pass by the entrance to Telma's tavern, Link was suddenly thinking about Colin, having dropped him off there only a day prior. He even had thoughts of going back and allowing his childhood friend to come with him. Colin would undoubtedly jump at the opportunity and the goddesses knew that Link could use a travelling companion. But, in the end, Link knew that it was best for Colin to stay safe for now. His wounds needed time to heal, and that aside, Link himself had no idea of the danger that could possibly lie before him. Asking Colin to face a threat that he was too innocent to comprehend would be a disservice to their friendship.

With that, Link spun around and began to travel east. It was no easy task, given the hordes of common citizens and guards. But Link soon found himself at the gates of Hyrule Castle Town, looking out at the cave through the mountains, which he knew led to East Hyrule Field. From here, it would take a single day of travel, at the very most, to reach his next destination, Kakariko Village.


	18. A Brief Reunion

**Chapter 18 - A Brief Reunion**

Just as Link had been expecting, the trip to Kakariko was not a long one. He encountered no delays on his journey, so he was able to make the short trek from the castle to the mountain village on foot by nightfall. This was made even more impressive by virtue of the fact that he decided not to remove his black robe throughout the entire journey. The mid-afternoon sun was bad enough to begin with, but wearing that robe made the journey almost unbearable due to the heat it created. Link deemed the price necessary, however. He made a careless mistake before, and now Epona suffers because of it. He would have to remain on his guard at all times from now on.

The crater that existed in Eastern Hyrule Field, the same one that Ganondorf had created a few days earlier, still remained seemingly untouched since Link had left it. It had become a major eyesore in the middle of an otherwise-beautiful landscape. He had hoped that something this huge would alert the people of the nearby Castle Town, but Link was beginning to have his doubts that anybody had even noticed it at all. Of course, he did not really interact with anybody in Castle Town, so it was hard to tell for sure if strange rumors of the crater swirled amongst the common citizens. But even so, it seemed like a massive ditch appearing in the middle of a sparsely-inhabited field should be major occurrence and worthy of a lot of attention.

It was around dusk when Link finally entered Kakariko Village. Most of the town's inhabitants were nowhere to be seen, having already retired to the comfort of their homes after another day's work. Of the one's who were still out in the streets, very few stopped to notice the mysterious robbed man who had just entered into their midst. Link was able to walk through the streets without any complications, and before long, he was standing at the entrance to the village's inn.

Before opening the door, Link reached up with his free hand and withdrew his hood, exposing it to the world. With that, he opened the door and entered the quaint inn. The young lady who stood behind the desk raised her head up upon hearing the door open, apparently surprised at the arrival of a customer. Link was unsure if her surprise came because of the late timing of his arrival or if it was his arrival altogether. The lobby was completely deserted, and Link had to assume that this occurrence was not out of the norm. The war, and the twilight beasts in particular, had done a number on the inn as well as the entire town. Tourism in the area probably took a large hit.

Nonetheless, Link approached the counter that the young lady stood behind. She seemed to be around his age, perhaps a tad older. "Hi." Link said awkwardly as he reached the counter. "Do you have any rooms available?"

"We sure do." She replied bashfully, giving him a suggestive smile. She began to stare at him eagerly while she played with her dirty blonde hair with her one of her hands. Link looked back into her dark green eyes and couldn't help but feel very disconcerted.

"I, uh…" Link stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words. "I would like a room, please."

She never took her eyes off him as she bent down and grabbed a key that was somewhere under the counter. She also grabbed a sheet of parchment, a quill and some ink and placed it all down on the top of the counter. "It is not often that we get guests here as handsome as you." She said coyly. "Tell me, stranger, what is your name?"

If he felt confused before, it was nothing compared to how confused he felt now. "My…name?" Link repeated quietly.

"Yeah." She replied. "We record the names of our guests here, so the owner can keep track of the keys."

Link was starting to have his doubts at this explanation, seeing as she was still looking at him with a dreamy look in her eye. It almost seemed likely that this was just some kind of ploy that she devised to get his name. Nonetheless, Link decided to comply, but he knew right away that he couldn't reveal his real name. "It's Nate." Link replied, blurting out the first name that came to his mind. It was a decision that he instantly regretted, but it was a decision he would have to live with, for the young lady had already begun to scribble down his 'name' onto the piece of parchment.

"Well, then, Nate." She said as she stepped out from behind the counter with a prominent smile on her face. "Shall I lead you to your room?"

As much as he wanted to just take the key and run, he knew that she was acting as any host should, and to deny her that would be incredibly rude. "Lead on." He muttered quietly, trying to be as polite as possible despite feeling quite irritable.

"Excellent!" She exclaimed, and with that, she crossed the room and began to happily skip up the staircase to the upper floor, with Link right in tow. Looking around, Link noticed that the inn was not great shape. Granted, it was in a whole lot better shape than it was the last time he was here, which was just after the twilight beasts had caused significant damage. Link guessed that he was the only guest tonight for he never caught a glance of anyone other than the girl he was now following. If there were any other guests, they had already retired to their own quarters for the night.

At the top of the staircase, the young girl stopped at one of the nearby doors and unlocked it with the key that she had brought from the counter. With the door unbolted, she gave the door a slight push and it opened with a slight creak at her bidding. With that she stood aside to allow Link passage into the room. She smiled dreamily at him as he passed by; a favor which he tried to politely return, although his smile turned out to be more of a grimace.

"Oh, here, your key." The girl said quickly, holding out her hand to give Link the key to his room.

Link, in his haste, had forgotten about the key, and he slowly turned back and grabbed the key from her outstretched palm.

"I will be serving dinner soon." She said quietly as he did so. "It is my wish that you join me."

"Oh, no, that's alright." Link replied hastily. "I already ate, I'm not hungry." His words, though, were untrue, and his stomach roared with displeasure.

Either she heard his stomach or she was able to see through his lie by some other means for she next said, "Come on, don't be shy! I've got plenty to eat, and I am sure that an adventurer, such as yourself, must have worked up quite an appetite."

Link did not see any way out of it now, seeing as he really didn't have a legitimate reason to not take her up on her offer. "Oh, very well, then." Link conceded. "Just give me a little time to myself first."

"Great!" She beamed, blushing lightly. "Just come down whenever you're ready, alright?"

With that, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Link sighed lightly as he began to look around. The room was small and bare, but it was more than enough for Link. There was bed that slept up to two, a small end table right next to the bed, a small table and a couple of chairs on the opposite side of the room, and tiny wardrobe off in a corner. The lone window provided an unobstructed view onto the main street in Kakariko Village.

Link lifted the bottom of his robe up and carefully placed Midna onto the bed. Looking down at her unmoving form, Link found himself overcome with the urge to laugh. Zelda had said that she thought that Midna could still see and hear everything that went on around her. If this was the case, she had just spent the day covered in a robe and staring into his chest. Not only that, but she had also been forced to listen to his awkward conversation with the girl down in the lobby. He could only imagine what she would say.

"I'm sorry, Midna." Link said with a wry grin. "If you can hear me, I am sorry." With that, Link drew the bed's sheets over Midna's head to conceal her from view in the unlikely occurrence that someone other than him walked into the room.

Link then took off his robe, exposing his normal Ordon farming outfit that he wore underneath. He placed the robe onto a nearby chair and he sat down in a different one. He then carefully removed his sword and shield from his back and placed them on top of the table. His feet were aching after a long day's travel, and knew now just how much he relied on Epona during his adventures last time around. With no Epona in the foreseeable future, he would have to get used to these aches and pains.

Link stayed seated for a good, long time, silently thinking about the real reason that he had chosen to come to Kakariko Village. It was a little late now, but in the morning he would go see Renado for the first time in a long time. Renado was an accomplished shaman, and though a powerful mage seemed more ideal for the situation concerning Midna, those who dabble with the spirits could also be of use in the attempt to draw out Midna's lost soul.

After a few more minutes of silent thought, Link decided that he had wasted enough time. He thought that if returned down to the lobby late enough, the dinner would have finished cooking and he could make this as painless as possible. Slowly, Link rose to his feet and left the comfort of his room. As Link descended back down the staircase to the lobby, he found that the room was deserted. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but on one of the circular tables that existed in the middle of the room, there were plates and cutlery set for a dinner for two.

Link silently sat down at one of the chairs at that table. It was eerily quiet in the room, the only noise that sounded through the room was the occasional _clang_ of metal banging on metal from somewhere in the nearby kitchen. He thought for sure that the girl was in there somewhere, and it was her that was making all the noise as she prepared dinner. However, Link was so transfixed on looking down the hallway that led to the kitchen that he did not even notice the girl as she returned to the lobby by going down the staircase.

"I'm glad you came." The girl said quietly as she walked down the staircase, smiling at him lightly.

Link instantly spun around at the sound of her voice. He had been so sure that she was in the kitchen, but that obviously turned out to be untrue. Link watched as she made her way over to the table and took the empty seat, and he was easily able to deduce where she had gone to instead of the kitchen. She no longer wore her work clothes, and instead, now wore an elegant, pure white dress. She must have taken the time she had available to go get ready in her own bedroom. Link was completely taken aback by this change, and he suddenly began to feel slightly awkward. Somehow, this attraction she had to him had developed very rapidly into a budding romance. Not only that, but he also felt very underdressed, as he only wore his ratty, Ordon farming garments.

"I, uh…" Link stammered as she looked at him expectantly. "You look nice." And it was the truth. The dress looked very good on her, although it looked much too formal to wear in a place like this. She had put on a simple, silver necklace that glittered in the waning sunlight from the nearby windows. Her hair looked well groomed to begin with, but she had taken care to make it lay down perfectly for the occasion. And she had done all of this in a very short amount of time; it could not have been longer than fifteen or twenty minutes.

"Oh, thank you." She replied shyly with a slight blush. "My name is Lyza, by the way."

Link nodded but said nothing more. He really couldn't think of anything to say. It was obvious to him that he did not want what she was after. At first, he thought that her attraction would soon pass, seeing as he only planned on staying here for the night. But at no time did he envision that her attraction would develop this quickly.

"So, where are you from, Nate?" She asked quietly.

Link cringed at the name. Of all the fake names that he could have picked, why did he have to pick that one? "I'm a farmer and herder from Ordon." He replied after a moment.

"Wow, Ordon?" She repeated, mildly surprised. "That's funny, we just had a girl who was around your age stay here and she was from Ordon, too."

"What?" Link exclaimed, suddenly becoming interested in the conversation. "A girl from Ordon? What was her name?"

"It was Ilia, I think." Lyza replied, a hint of jealousy detectable in her voice. Her suspected jealousy soon became even more evident when she said, "She said she was looking for some guy named 'Link'."

Link gasped. She really had been here. Maybe there was still hope for her, after all. "How long ago was this?" Link asked. "Is she still here?"

"No, she left a couple days ago. I'm not sure where she went." Lyza replied, obviously starting to get irked. "What's this girl to you, anyway?"

"Huh? Oh…" Link replied embarrassedly. "Nothing… nothing like that, at least. She…she's just a good friend of mine and I haven't seen her in a while."

The answer did not seem to pass with her, but the chef chose a very opportune time to bring out the dinner. He was a middle-aged man and he held in each of his hands a plate of food. Each plate had the same meal, and he gave one each to Link and Lyza.

"So, you are Nate, hmm? Welcome." The man said as Link examined the food placed in front of him, which turned out to be some kind out soup. The soup contained mainly chicken and potato, but also had trace amounts of various vegetables. And, on the side, there were also a couple pieces of bread. "I must apologize for not welcoming you earlier."

"It's no problem." Link said truthfully. In all honesty, he would not have noticed if the man had not welcomed him at all, and actually found it a little out of the ordinary that man did. Link did not recognize the man at all; either the man was a new landlord or Link just hadn't ever taken notice of him before this point. In any case, Link grabbed his spoon and prepared himself for the feast that his stomach so desperately yearned for.

"If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask either myself or Lyza here." The man said quietly before turning around and heading off back into the kitchen.

Link nodded in acknowledgement, but the man never did see him do so, as he had already turned his back. With that, Link began to inhale his soup as if it was just liquid (which was almost true, there was very little meat in it so the soup was more broth than anything). In very little time at all, Link drank the bowl clean and his stomach finally felt at ease. Lyza had hardly picked up her spoon by the time that Link had finished. She looked at him humorously as she said, "Good, isn't it?"

Linked nodded and said, "Yeah, it was."

"It was a recipe of my father's." Lyza explained. "He was the greatest chef I have ever known."

"But he isn't anymore?" Link asked quietly.

"He's not here anymore." She replied. "He was killed in a raid a few years back."

"Oh." Link said guiltily. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, you're fine." She said with a light smile. "You didn't know. And it happened a while ago."

Link watched on in an awkward silence as Lyza finished the remaining portion of her meal. This whole situation was becoming harder for him to deal with, but at least it was finally drawing to a close. Once she had taken her last sip, she pushed her bowl to the side and politely wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Well, thanks for joining me." She said quietly with a slight blush. She placed her napkin off to the side before she reached out and grabbed his hands, which he had propped up on the table. "I really had a good time." She added suggestively.

Link wedged his hands out of hers and quickly rose to his feet. Lyza stared at him with a shocked look on her face, but out of shame, Link could not bear to look at her. "I-I'm sorry, I can't do this." He said quietly before he began to walk to the staircase.

"What?" Lyza asked quietly, hurrying to catch up to his him. "Was it something I said?"

"No, no, it's not you." Link replied as he reached the stairs and proceeded to walk up them. "It's me, I can't do this right now."

"Is it because of her?" Lyza asked, perhaps with a bit of jealousy, as she followed him up the stairs.

"What?" Link asked distractedly. "No, it's not her either. It's…I don't know how to explain it, it's complicated."

"Tell me and I'll leave you alone." Lyza said as he reached the door to his room.

"Lyza, I can't stay here." Link said as opened the door to his room. He was desperately trying to think of anything he could say to let her down as gently as possible. "I have to leave tomorrow."

"Don't think about tomorrow." Lyza replied, a fiery look present in her eyes. "Live for today and you might just find that tomorrow will be a whole lot different than what you were expecting."

Lyza began walking towards him but Link kept taking steps backwards into his room. Lyza followed him in, leaving the door wide open behind her. But she did not seem to notice that, as her eyes were looking deeply into his. Link was beginning to feel very uneasy about what was to come, but he was beginning to find her strangely alluring as well. Still, he continued to back up until he finally ran out of real estate, toppling backwards into the chair that he had been sitting in before dinner. She quickly straddled him on the chair, sitting in his lap and facing him. They locked eyes for a moment longer before she began to inch her head even closer and closer, until their lips met.

Link did not resist her, but he did not really respond to her kiss either. He just sat there in some sort of trance, silently wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this now. Lyza continued her kiss for a couple of seconds, although it seemed to go on for much longer than that. When she finally pulled away, she gave him a seductive smile as she gazed into his eyes.

Slowly, she rose to her feet once more, grabbing one of his hands in the process. "Come on," she urged, lightly tugging on his arm. "I want to show you something."

Link allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, still in utter shock about what had just occurred. Lyza turned around and began walking out of the room at this point, never releasing his hand. "Lyza, I…" Link started to say as he allowed himself to get pulled out of the room and down the stairs once more.

"Don't worry." Lyza interrupted as she bounded down the stairs. "You're going to like it, I promise."

Link wanted to tell her that she had missed the point entirely, but he knew it would be hopeless. She was completely hooked on him now; the seemingly trivial task of breaking it off with her had grown into a very daunting one.

Lyza continued to lead Link down through the lobby of the inn and out the front door. She walked at a very fast pace through the streets of Kakariko and Link struggled to keep up. Under the moonlit sky, she led him past Talo's shop and Renado's sanctuary until the two of them were standing in front of the spring of Eldin.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lyza said with a sigh of longing.

"Yeah, it is." Link said quietly after a moment of silent observation. And it was the truth, too. It had not changed a bit since he had last been to this spiritual spring. The moonlight reflected brilliantly in the cascading water of the spring, adding even more magnificence to the truly stunning scene.

"They say that this place is touched by the goddesses." Lyza explained quietly. "That the guardian of this entire area lives inside this spring, silently protecting us from our aggressors."

Link nodded slightly, but he didn't say anything. He knew that what she said was true, having interacted with the spirit of Eldin himself, but he choose to not reveal this knowledge for the sake of his cover.

A few minutes passed by without anything else said between the two. Soon, though, Link felt her arms wrap around his neck. And, immediately after that, Lyza brought her head over and rested it on his shoulder.

If he felt uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. His right arm had gotten trapped between his body and hers, and he quickly wedged it out and extended it away from her body, so that it didn't touch any sensitive areas. "Wait, Lyza…" He muttered pathetically.

But she just held on tighter. "Shh." She replied quietly. "Don't ruin this perfect moment."

Link sighed lightly. As much as he did not want it to be true, he had to admit that the moment had grown very romantic. He should count himself lucky; he had gotten to spend the past hour or so with a very beautiful young lady. He knew that it could not last, however. Too much was at stake for him to lose sight of what must be done.

Nonetheless, Link gave into the temptations of the moment. He wrapped the arm which he had embarrassedly withdrawn earlier around her waist, and allowed it to rest on her hips. It was an experience quite unlike anything he had ever gone through before; he might as well make the most of it, while it lasted.

It was in this compromising position, wrapped in a tender embrace with a girl he barely even knew, that he heard a very familiar voice.

"Link?"

The voice came from somewhere behind him. Link hastily spun around to face it, and in the process of doing so, nearly knocked Lyza off her feet. She had been allowing a lot of her weight to lean against him, so his sudden motion disrupted her balance and nearly sent her sprawling to the ground. But Link quickly caught her and muttered his apologies before turning again to face the voice.

It was indeed who he thought it was. It was Ilia, standing in the flesh, but she was no longer looking at him. While Link had been distracted with helping Lyza, she had recognized him and had already begun to walk away.

"Link…?" Lyza repeated quietly, clearly dumbfounded. She stood in shock and stared quietly at the man who, up until a few seconds ago, she thought was named 'Nate'.

She was looking for some sort of explanation, but Link had no time to give her one. "I'm sorry." Link said hastily. "But I've got to go."

With that, Link turned and ran after Ilia, who was walking at a fairly fast pace down Kakariko's main road. "Wait, Ilia!" He hollered, but she continued to walk on. Link broke out into a full-out run, but even then, he did not catch her until she was near the entrance to the bomb shop.

"Ilia, hold on a second." Link repeated when he finally caught up to. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she finally came to a stop. But even then, she did not turn to face him.

"What do you want?" She said quietly, still not turning around to look at him.

"Ilia, what's wrong?" Link asked, becoming concerned.

"What's wrong?" Ilia repeated hotly, finally turning around so that Link could see her face. Her eyes were full of anger, but they also looked deeply hurt. "I gave up everything for you!"

"What are you talking about?" Link asked quietly, although he was fairly sure that he already knew the answer.

"I ran away from home, Link." Ilia replied. "I put everything I had into finding you. And when I finally do, you are messing around with that…that…"

Link knew what Ilia wanted to say, and he, quite frankly, was glad that she didn't say it out loud. Nonetheless, Link calmly began to say, "Ilia, it's not what…"

"Then what the hell was it, then?" Ilia shot back angrily, her temper flaring.

Link shifted his feet guiltily. What could he say to her? Granted, it was indeed Lyza who had done the initiating. But he didn't really put up much of a fight. "Look, Ilia, I'm sorry." Link replied after a moment or two, unable to think of anything else to say. "It's great to see you again."

Ilia said nothing and simply looked at the ground around her feet. Link felt horrible but he could think of absolutely nothing to say that would help console her. He could not imagine what she must be feeling right now.

Fortunately, however, he would not have to say anything more, at least for the time being. This is because, at that moment, a high-pitched scream rang through the air. Link spun around in the direction which it had come from; it seemed to have originated near the inn.

"What was that?" Ilia asked quietly from behind Link.

Link did not get a chance to reply, as he had already begun to run off in the direction of the scream. He had a pretty good idea as to who had screamed, and it was with very little surprise that he saw a terrified Lyza standing at the entrance of the inn. What did come as a surprise, however, was the man who stood in front of her. The strange man had Lyza pushed up against the wall of the inn, apparently talking to her but Link could not hear a word of what he was saying because he was still too far away. The man was wearing a simple all-black outfit that consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and pants that extended down to his ankles. The outfit was all skin-tight, and certainly looked intimidating.

As Link got closer, he began to hear the conversation that was going on between Lyza and the strange man. "Look, miss, I have no time for games." The man hissed. "I am well aware that a young lady from Ordon passed through here not long ago." He reached up with one of his hands and softly stroked her cheek. "Now, why don't you be a darling and tell me where she went off to?"

"Get your hands off of her!" Link hollered as he approached the foot of the inn.

The man turned away from Lyza to face Link. "Now, what do we have here?" The man said quietly as he stepped a couple of paces away from Lyza. "The Hero of Twilight! My Master sends his regards. Oh, and look! You've brought me a gift as well. I do thank you, Link; that is the very girl I was looking for."

"What?" Link asked, feeling confused. He turned around and saw that Ilia had followed him, and he came to the conclusion that this man must have been sent by Ganondorf to capture Ilia. "What do you want with Ilia?" Link asked.

"My Master's wishes are his own." The man stated calmly. Now that Link had gotten close enough, he began to take notice of the man's features. He was slightly shorter than Link, but he looked to be lean and agile. He had shoulder-length jet-black hair that was slightly unruly at spots. And, most importantly, he had a pair of scabbards, one at each side of his waist, strapped to his hips. "If you know what's best for you, you will stand aside now, Hero."

"There is no way that I am going to let you take Ilia!" Link shot back.

The man laughed condescendingly as he calmly descended the small flight of stairs from the patio in front of the inn to the main street of Kakariko Village. He approached Link until they were about ten feet apart, and then he stopped to face his adversary. "Do not make this harder than it needs to be." He said confidently.

"You've already done a good job of that!" Link said intensely.

The man grinned out of the corner of his mouth. "I suppose we only have one more option."

"Well, let's get started, then." Link answered, and he instinctively reached to his back for the Master Sword. His hands, however, only met air, and he gasped in shock. He soon remembered that he had taken off his sword and shield back in his room in the inn, a fact which now put him at a severe disadvantage.

Link was not sure if the man had realized that he was completely unarmed before this point, but he obviously noticed now. He reached for the hilts of his duel-wield blades and quickly drew both of them. Each was about two feet in length and seemed to be extremely sharp. The man showed absolutely no indecision as he quickly jumped at his unarmed foe. The man swung slash after devastating slash his way, and without his sword and shield, Link had no option but to dodge all of them. One of the girls screamed in the background but Link was too focused on the man in front of him to notice. The man was very precise with his attacks, and it took all of Link's energy just to jump out of the way, let alone fire any close-range attacks of his own.

After Link was really beginning to wear due to fatigue, the man backed off tauntingly. He was just playing now. "How can you expect to defeat me if you aren't even armed?" The man asked as Link rested his hands on his knees and sputtered for breath. "Out of the kindness of my heart, I will give you one more chance. Leave now and I will not pursue you. The girl is the only reason I am here; don't make the mistake of giving me reason to kill you, too."

Infuriated, Link rose back to a completely upright position, ready to jump back into battle. "So be it." The man said quietly and he dropped back into a fighting position. He quickly aimed a right-handed slash at Link, but Link quickly dodged by jumping to the left. Seeing a slight opening, Link threw a kick which connected with the man's shin. It was not strong enough to cause any real damage, however, and before Link could capitalize further, the man aimed a slash with his left hand. Link was able to jump backwards and dodge in time, but this continuous dodging routine would not win him this battle. Link frowned lightly. If he was going to have any chance, he was going to have to disarm him somehow and use at least one of the swords as his own. But this man was clearly very adept at swordplay, so how would he ever be able to do that?

It seemed like an impossible task, but Link would soon get his opportunity. After dodging a particularly devastating two-handed slash, Link noticed the man was gearing up for a jump attack using both of his swords. As soon as the man had left the ground, Link jumped slightly to the left and kicked straight upwards with his right foot. His shin connected simultaneously with both of the man's forearms as they were thundering down toward the ground, and the impact caused the man to lose grip of both of his swords. Both swords flew out of his hands in different directions. Link quickly ran over to the nearest one and picked it up, but unfortunately, the man had recovered the other one.

"Impressive." The man said with a slight smirk. "I guess you do have talent in combat after all. I was beginning to wonder whether the Master Sword was the only source of your power. But it seems that I was wrong."

Link frowned as he dropped into his battle stance. The sword felt strange in his hands, but it was light and powerful. It could not possibly match the Master Sword, but it would have to do for now. The man jumped right back into action, aiming a vertical slash Link's way. Link responded by raising his sword horizontally over his head and calmly deflecting the attack away.

Link then prepared a counterattack, which was a simple downward slash. However, his hand slipped on the unfamiliar hilt a little bit, and this setback caused him to delay his attack by a fraction of a second while he regained control of the foreign blade. This slight setback seemed inconsequential, but it turned out to cost him dearly. In the delay, the man was able to figure out what Link was trying to do, and was able to formulate an adequate defense. Just as Link began to swing his blade, the man raised his free hand, and used it to grab Link's sword arm's wrist, thus nullifying the attack. Link was completely exposed at this point, and the man capitalized by aiming a stab down into the earth, right through Link's right foot.

Link cried out in pain as his foot began to bleed profusely. The man pulled his sword out of Link's foot before grabbing his other sword from out of Link's yielding hands. Now unarmed again and utterly defeated, Link fell backwards to the ground with a hard _thud_. Link's life began to flutter as he waited for the man to give the killing blow, but the man did not seem interested in doing so. Somewhere nearby, he heard him say, "Now onto you, my dear." And Ilia screamed soon after. He could hear the sound of running footsteps, but he was powerless to help her out.

"No!" Link screamed, using the last of his energy. "Ilia!"

Due to the combined efforts of exhaustion and loss of blood, Link soon lost consciousness. The very last thing he heard before everything went black was one, final scream from his childhood friend.


	19. Foreboding Recovery

**Chapter 19**

"Remind me again why I have to do this?" Aaron muttered under his breath as he stared at the mass of dirty dishes that lied in front of him.

"I told you, this is the only way I can afford to keep you in the castle without arousing the guards." Zelda replied coldly. "Or would you rather stay in a cell down in the dungeon?"

Aaron sighed deeply. He knew that some precautions were necessary, but it almost seemed to him the she was taking some sadistic pleasure in this. He supposed that he should be grateful, though. She was still talking to him, at least; and after what he put her through, he probably did deserve much worse than that.

So Aaron conceded and he took a step closer to the table and began collect the trash that had accumulated. He and Zelda were standing in a deserted dining room, where a massive breakfast buffet had just taken place. The royal delegates who had attended the meal had long since left the room, but the evidence of their presence still existed all around them. Dirty plates and cutlery, leftover food, used napkins and assorted trash covered almost every inch of the table, and now it was his job to clean it all up. Zelda had requested that he take up his old post as a servant to the throne, so this would be just the first of many menial labor jobs that he would have to do.

"As soon as you finish this, go down to the servant's quarters." Zelda said indifferently. "You remember where that is, right? I'm sure that somebody down there can find something else for you to do."

With that, Zelda turned around and exited room, leaving Aaron alone to his thoughts. He had no help on this chore, a fact that he could not help but feel slightly bitter about. There could have been ten servants here all cleaning up the table and it still would have taken quite a bit of time, but Zelda had placed just him here. There were literally hundreds of servants at Hyrule's disposal, and yet, he was forced to complete the job alone.

He had a large rolling cart, and he began loading as many plates and cutlery as he could onto it. He also had a trash can where he would toss the trash and dump the leftover food. Even before he had started loading the cart, it was obvious it would not be able to hold all of the dishes and cutlery on one trip. Indeed, after about ten minutes of loading and cleaning, the cart had been loaded to above capacity and the table wasn't even halfway cleared yet. With a slight sigh, Aaron began to wheel the cart out of the room. He took a turn down the nearby hallway where he knew the kitchen to be located, having been there often the last time he was a servant of Hyrule. The cart was overflowing with dirty dishes, so he took extra care to stabilize the cart. The hallway was relatively level, but even so, the slightest bump could have sent dozens of plates to the ground.

A little farther down the hall, he found himself at the doors to the kitchen. Once he wedged the cart inside, the real challenge began. The kitchen was huge and it was completely filled with servants and chefs, busy accomplishing their respective duties. Aaron had no idea what most of them were doing, but the end result meant that moving the cart around with bumping into anyone or anything would be very difficult.

After about ten solid minutes of careful rolling, Aaron finally made it to the area of the kitchen where he was trying to get to. The washing of the plates took place in one of the corners of the kitchens. Here, there were five servants, and each of them was washing plates with an old rag. They had a large tub of soapy water that they would occasionally dip their rags into, and when they were done cleaning a plate, they put it on a nearby counter. There were a couple drains in the floor beneath their feet where any dripping water would eventually go into.

There were already a couple of carts full of dirty plates lined up for these cleaners, so Aaron pushed his in right behind the others. A couple of empty carts were also stationed nearby, so Aaron next grabbed one of them and began to wheel it out the way he came. And once he made it back to the dining room, he started over again from square one.

Two more trips and about one hour later, Aaron had finally finished clearing the table. And not a moment too soon either. A couple other servants had begun filing into the room wheeling carts full of clean plates, evidently getting ready to set the table for lunch.

Aaron knew he probably should have starting helping them, but he did not. Nor did he head on down to the servant's quarters to get a new assignment. A servant's role was indeed pivotal in the well-being of a kingdom, but his mind was focused on something far more important.

He began to walk through the halls of the castle, heading towards the exit. He passed many guards along the way, but since he was wearing the standard servant uniform, he was not apprehended by any of them. A guard opened the main door to the castle grounds at his request, and with that, Aaron was in the Hyrule castle courtyard.

He had no idea where the castle's stables would be, but he knew that they had to be around here somewhere. He had given his word to Link that he would attempt to rescue Epona, and that word was something he was determined keep. However, he still did not know where they were keeping Epona. Zelda would probably know, but something told him that if he tried to even get close to her at this point, she would dismiss him and send him back to the servant's quarters. So, this was a task he would have to complete on his own.

A stable seemed like an obvious place to hold a captive horse. Dungeons aren't meant for horses, and it was doubtful that Epona could even fit in a cell. Stables may be only meant for the guards' horses, but there really wasn't any other place in the castle where Epona could be held effectively.

Aaron began to walk around the courtyard in search of the castle's stables. Whenever he felt a guard's suspicious eye on him, he would approach a nearby bed of flowers or a hedge and pretend to do some gardening until the guard looked away. There were many guards out and about so he had to do this quite often, significantly hindering his ability to search.

Soon, however, he spotted a building that looked promising. It was a small building that was built into the side of the exterior castle wall, and attached to it were several shaded stalls built to hold horses. If there was any lingering doubt that this might not be a stable, it vanished when he noticed that there were barrels of hay stacked out front.

He took a moment to make sure no one was watching him, and when he confirmed that there wasn't, he stealthily ran over to the building. Once he got close, he heard voices coming from inside the building, so he took extra care to be as silent as possible. There was a small wall between the building and the stall for the horses, and Aaron took advantage of this to hide himself from view from the people inside the building.

Upon checking the first couple of stalls, he was disappointed. Only a few of the stalls actually housed a horse, and of the horses that were there, none of them was Epona. He went from stall to stall, but she was not in any of the stalls that he checked. He found himself growing more and more discouraged as the number of stalls that he had not yet checked slowly decreased in number. But at the very last stall in the row, he found what he was looking for.

There was Epona, and she stared at him blankly as he approached. They had the door to her stall closed, but otherwise, there was nothing keeping her from getting out. Aaron began to look around as he contemplated how to get her out. There was only one way out of the courtyard and that was through the main gates. From there, they would have to go over the bridge and through Castle Town to reach the safety of Hyrule Fields.

This seemed like an insurmountable task. It was daytime, so the main gates would be open at present hour, but that hardly helped. The sheer number of guards patrolling the perimeter easily made up for that. It did give them a chance, however. If the gate was closed, there would be no way out of the courtyard. After passing through the gates, there was the matter of getting through Castle Town. It was the height of noon now, so surely the streets would be full of people. There would be no way to get through without arousing unwanted attention. Given these circumstances, it would be impossible to smuggle Epona out without getting detected. However, if he had her run the entire time, then perhaps they could breeze past the guards in the courtyard and barge through the crowds in the streets to reach freedom.

"Aaron." A mysterious voice said. "I've been expecting you."

Aaron froze at the sound of the voice. He glanced over his shoulder fearfully, thinking that a guard had found him, but he noticed that there was nobody there. And, that aside, none of the guards knew him by name. He almost began to think that he had imagined the voice entirely, since there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary any longer. But then, he saw something moving in the stall behind Epona. It was a figure hidden in shadows, but it was stepping forward and soon, it became visible under the sun.

"Nate…" Aaron said with a gasp.

"Surprised to see me, brother?" Nate said with a light smirk. He came to a stop, and they were now standing only a couple of feet away from each other and only separated by a flimsy waist-high door.

"What the hell?" Aaron gasped in a hushed tone. "What are you doing here?"

"How do you think Epona ended up here?" Nate said with a cynical smile.

Aaron stared at his brother blankly, thrown off by the strange, unexpected question.

"Come on, think." Nate urged when Aaron did not understand, at first, what he was getting at.

"You…" Aaron gasped as realization washed over him. "You are the reason that Epona is chained up. You tipped off the guards, you told them that Link was here!"

"Of course." Nate smirked. "You thought those dimwit guards would have realized that on their own? Please. They wouldn't have recognized him if he walked right in front of them with his name written on his forehead. Ignorant fools."

"Nate, stop this." Aaron said quietly. "Get out while you still can."

"There is no getting out, my brother." Nate said coldly. "Ganondorf shall consume this land. You either join him and be spared, or fight him and be destroyed."

"He won't spare you!" Aaron retaliated. "As soon as he has used you for all your worth, he will throw you out with the trash. To him, you are meaningless."

"You underestimate my Master's mercy." Nate replied. "He will reward those who help him accomplish his desires."

"Nate, father is dead." Aaron said sorrowfully. "Ganondorf killed him. He has nothing over your head anymore, so please, I ask you to reconsider."

"You have been misinformed." Nate said. "Father still lives."

"What?" Aaron exclaimed. "No, he doesn't, I watched him die. I watched as Ganondorf slit his throat!"

"You just don't understand." Nate replied mysteriously. "Father didn't die, my Master just made him stronger."

"What are you talking about?" Aaron asked.

"If you had remained loyal to our Master, you would already know what I am talking about." Nate said coldly. "But don't worry. I suspect that you will find out soon enough. My master has grown tired of waiting for the Hero to act. He has taken initiative into his own hands now. His vengeance will be quick and just. And I am sure that both you and the Hero will witness father's new power firsthand."

"What is this?" Aaron gasped. "Are you saying that Ganondorf is planning to attack? Now?"

"He wanted me to convince the idiotic guards to lock up the Hero's steed." Nate explained. "He thought that doing so would draw the Hero out and try to rescue his horse. And then, with one fell swoop, he would take out both the Hero and the princess. And then, he would burn Hyrule to the ground. Obviously, the Hero did not act as my Master thought that he would. But perhaps that is for the better. Two halves are weaker than a whole. I imagine that he is in the process of taking care of the Hero now, and then he will set his sights on the Castle after that."

Aaron frowned. Link was in serious trouble if Ganondorf was after him now. He had to be warned. "Please, Nate, I'll ask you one more time." Aaron said quietly. "Stop what you are doing. This isn't you. Please, I'm begging you, come join me."

"Begging is for the weak." Nate replied simply. With that, he brought two fingers to his lips and let out a deafening, high-pitched whistle. The resulting sound was so sharp that it seemed to just cut through the air like a sword. Its sound carried all the way across the grounds, and Aaron soon realized what Nate was trying to accomplish. The sound had alerted several of the nearby guards. They had now noticed that Aaron was standing in front of the confiscated horse, and they must have assumed (correctly) that he was trying to release it. Some of the guards were running away to alert other guards and the rest were now sprinting towards Aaron, attempting to apprehend him.

"Enjoy your time down in the dungeons." Nate said with a smirk. He then took several paces backwards so that he was fully engulfed by shadows again, effectively invisible to the unobservant eye.

Aaron quickly cursed under his breath. He didn't have much time, but there was still hope for Epona. He quickly began to fiddle with the door until it swung open, and when it did, he started urging her to run. "Go, Epona." He yelled. "Get out of here!"

In reality, Epona did not need to be urged out. As soon as the door was opened, she quickly galloped out. Several of the oncoming guards lunged at her as she dashed past, but they just bounced off of her and she kept on going. Aaron did not get a chance to see just how far she got, however, because he was soon tackled by a couple of the guards who had decided not to go after Epona.

"Stop right there!" One of the guards yelled unnecessarily, as they had already rendered him immobilized on the ground. Aaron did not resist as the guards forced him to his feet. He had three guards surrounding him, so it would only result in pain if he tried anything now. One guard held his hands behind his back and the other two stood on each side of him as they began to walk. "I'm sure that we can find a nice cell in the dungeon for scum like you."

But before they left, Aaron heard a strange laugh coming from Epona's supposedly-vacant stall.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, dog."<p>

Aaron felt someone slap him across the face and his eyes instantly opened. He tried to move his hands to grab his cheek in pain, but he soon realized that he was unable to do so. Both of his hands were chained to the wall above his head. He was in some kind of cell, evidently down in the dungeons. He was surrounded on three sides by a stone wall, and the fourth wall consisted of steel bars. The door through the steel bars was open, but that did not help him much, seeing as he was still chained to the wall.

With him in the cell were four other people. Two of them were common guards. There was also a scribe, carrying an official-looking piece of parchment. And the last one looked to be some kind of nobleman.

"Now that you are awake, we may proceed with your judgement." The nobleman said, and Aaron could only assume that he was a judge. "You have been charged with trespass, impersonation and attempted theft of official property to the throne. Due to the severity of these crimes, a formal trial with a jury of your peers will not be held. Your punishment will be handed down by single high-ranking judge, which will be me. Is this clear?"

Aaron nodded ever so slightly, but he did not know what he was agreeing to. In truth, he had not heard a word that the man had said. His head was still spinning from the blow he took earlier. He began trying to think how he had ended up in this cell but he simply could not remember. The last thing he could remember was releasing Epona, so he must have passed out some time after that.

"Hold this trial." Said a new voice.

Both Aaron and the judge turned at to look for the unexpected newcomer. There, standing just on the other side of the steel bars, was Princess Zelda.

"I will be taking control of this sentencing." She said sharply.

The judge looked at her in shock. "You…what?" He stuttered.

"Do you have a problem with this, Judge Eli?" Zelda said quietly.

"N-no, of course not, your Majesty." The man quickly replied. "It is certainly within your power to do so. But, forgive me, as I have never seen you exercise that power before."

"Very well, then." Zelda replied. "Criminal, for the crimes you have committed against Hyrule, I sentence you to seven days confined to this cell. You will also be forced to pay a fine equal to the value of the horse you attempted to steal."

"But, your Majesty," The judge said, seemingly flabbergasted. "Perhaps you are unaware, but the horse he was trying to steal was the captured steed that belonged to Link."

"I am well aware of this." Zelda replied indifferently.

"But, then, don't you think that your sentence is too lenient?" The judge asked carefully. "This crime is fairly serious, after all…"

"Are you questioning my decision, Judge Eli?" Zelda said sharply.

"N-no, your Majesty." The man replied hastily.

"Good." Zelda replied. "You may leave now."

The man gave Zelda a slight bow before quickly exiting the cell and vanishing out of sight. The scribe finishing scribbling something down on the piece of parchment before he, too, left the cell. With that, the two guards also left the cell, closing and locking the door behind them. They then resumed their posts in front of the cell.

"I would like a moment alone with the prisoner." Zelda said to one of the guards.

"Yes, your Majesty." The guard replied before he and the other guard also walked in the same direction that the judge and scribe had went. They quickly disappeared from sight and soon after, the sound of their footsteps also faded into silence.

"You are lucky." Zelda said quietly through the steel bars once the two of them were alone. "I did not think that I would be able to get you off so easily."

Aaron frowned but he said nothing. He did feel grateful, but to call his sentencing 'easy' was an understatement. He knew that he did not own enough rupees to pay off the fine, and a week in this godforsaken cell would be very depressing. His arms were already beginning to fell numb in the shackles, and he had only been chained for a few minutes.

"Did Epona make it away?" He asked.

"Yes." Zelda replied. "My guards say that she escaped into the southern fields and they gave up the chase from there."

Aaron nodded but he said nothing more. At least some good came out of this situation.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Zelda asked when Aaron failed to break the silence.

Aaron looked down and soon noticed that he was completely bare-chested. In fact, all that he was wearing was a ratty pair of shorts. The guards must have confiscated his clothes at some point when he was unconscious and replaced them with this prisoner uniform. Putting that matter aside, he glanced at his shoulder and knew what Zelda was referring to. The wound that he had sustained a few days previously, back at Link's house in Ordon, had still not healed completely. Indeed, Aaron had not paid much attention to it after Link had bandaged it up, so it was not healing very well. The skin around the wound was puffy and showed signs of infection. And the wound itself was still bright red in color.

"It's nothing." Aaron replied distractedly. "But look, I got something more important that I have to tell you."

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

"I fear that Link may be in grave danger." Aaron said quickly. "I think that Ganondorf may be after him as we speak."

"What?" Zelda asked. "How do you know this?"

Aaron bit his lip. He knew that if he told her the real reason he had come upon this information, she would think that he was crazy. "Look, just trust me." Aaron said after a moment or two. "You have to warn Link."

"I will see what I can do." Zelda said quietly, then she added with a frown, "But when you get out of here, you need to get that shoulder looked at."

Aaron smiled lightly and watched her leave down in the same direction that the others had gone in. It wasn't much, but knowing she still cared about him enough to bail him out of here might be enough to make the next few days at least bearable.


	20. Work of the Divine

**Chapter 20 - Work of the Divine**

Link's eyes flung open. He was laying down in a bed that was completely foreign to him. In fact, the entire scene in front of him seemed very strange. He slowly tried to pull himself up to a sitting position on the side of the bed, but he soon realized that there was a pain in his right foot that made it unbearable for him to even move it. His entire body ached all over and he housed a huge headache that made the entire world around him seem to spin.

"Take it easy, you still need rest." He heard someone say.

Link closed his eyes again and tried to remember exactly what had happened to him. But, try as he did, he simply could not. The last thing he could remember was getting defeated by Ganondorf's sent assassin, and then everything went black.

Link groaned and rubbed his eyes lightly, perhaps hoping that doing so would help him see the situation he had fallen into more clearly. He slowly opened his eyes again and began to study his surroundings closely. He soon noticed that he was lying down in the bed that he had originally rented in the inn. He also noticed his sword and shield were still resting innocently on the table that he had placed them on earlier, and he couldn't help but feel disgruntled by the fact that they were not this close by when he actually needed them during his fight.

"How are you feeling?"

Link looked around and noticed that it was Lyza who was talking to him. She had drawn a chair up to the side of his bed and was wearily watching over him.

"Lyza…" Link groaned. "What's going on? Where…where is Ilia?"

"You need to relax." Lyza replied, trying to change the subject.

"Lyza, where is she?" Link said again, perhaps more forcefully than he had intended.

Lyza shook her head almost imperceptibly. "I'm sorry, Link." She said, hardly louder than a whisper.

It was not a very clarifying answer, but it was enough to confirm his fears. In his anger and sadness, Link violently pounded down on his bed with his right hand, an action which he instantly regretted. The impact caused the bed to shake, and, by extension, Link as well. And this only compounded on the throbbing headache he was already feeling.

"How long has it been?" Link asked quietly, feeling overwhelmed by this plethora of bad news.

"Almost a day, now." She explained quietly, as if fearing that Link might lash out at her for giving him the bad news. "You passed out in the heat of the battle but that strange man did not go for you after that. He chased down Ilia and soon caught her, taking her with him somewhere. Then I brought you up here, and you've been unconscious up until now."

Link silently took a look out the nearby window. The sun was just visible off in the horizon, but in an hour or two, it would disappear and another day would come to an end. It was far too late to try to track down the man and Ilia now. They had gotten off to a day's head start, and that aside, Link was in absolutely no condition for any extensive travel now. As quickly as she had come, Ilia was gone.

Link sighed lightly and began to examine the extent of his injuries. He tossed the sheets off of his body and looked down at his foot. He noticed that his right foot was already completely wrapped in bandages. There was a large dry spot of blood noticeable on them, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped some time ago.

"I did the best that I could." Lyza said quietly as Link continued to examine his foot.

"And you did a good job." Link replied gratefully. "Thank you. But these bandages really should be changed now."

With that, Link began to try to get up again, but Lyza stood up and held him down on the bed. "No, you'll hurt yourself further. I'll go get more some more bandages."

Link smiled lightly as he watched Lyza leave the room, silently thanking his lucky stars for her help. Only the goddesses knew what terrible fate would have been in store for him if did not have her help. While he waited for her return, Link pulled himself into a sitting position on the side of the bed and began to unravel the bloodied bandages off of his foot. This process turned out to be quite painful, as the dry blood had fused with the bandages, so removing the bandages reopened the wound slightly. Small amounts of blood began to leak out from the wound, and Link used the now-removed piece of cloth to absorb the blood until Lyza got back with more bandages.

Soon, Lyza returned with more bandages, and she quickly discarded the old ones that Link had been using. Link allowed her to take over at this point, and she began wrapping a long piece of fresh cloth around his foot. She made the complete journey around his foot a few times before tucking the end of the cloth inside of itself, to keep the cloth from unraveling. She seemed to know what she was doing, which led him to believe that she had a good deal of experience with treating injuries.

With the fresh bandage secure, Link turned and lied back down on the bed. He wanted to feel optimistic that this wound would heal completely, but he just wasn't sure at this point. He had never sustained any kind of injury quite like this one. The foot was unique in that it felt the pressure of the entire body on top of it at all times. It had to be strong to be able to sustain such an enormous burden. And, given the extent of his injury, he was unsure whether his foot would ever be strong enough to support his weight again.

Lyza seemed to notice his worrisome aura, for she soon said encouragingly, "You'll get better, Link. Just give it some time."

"Time I don't have." Link muttered under his breath with a sigh, but he smiled lightly nonetheless. He quickly noted how she now used his true name, and he changed the subject by saying, "Well, I guess my secret is out now, huh?"

"What?" Lyza asked, slightly confused. But when she realized what he was talking about, she blushed and said quietly. "Oh, yeah. Link, had I known who you were, I…"

"Don't worry about it." Link interrupted. "It made for a fun couple of hours."

She smiled. "Anyway, your secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone about your true identity or that…thing you had in your bed either."

Link gasped as he realized what she was referring to. "Midna." He muttered under his breath. He then began to look around the room for any sign of her.

"I laid it down on the floor on the other side of the bed." Lyza explained.

Link quickly peeked over the side of the bed and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Midna lying there. Lyza had wrapped her up in a spare set of sheets, and Midna looked like she was sleeping in a bed that was tailor-made to fit her. Link returned his head to the pillow and smiled at Lyza as he said, "Thanks."

She returned the smile before she was overcome by a large yawn. Link then noticed that she was a little black around the eyes. "How long have you been sitting here?" Link asked quietly, fearing he already knew the answer. He suddenly noted that she was still wearing the same dress that had been wearing the day before.

"Oh." Lyza replied embarrassedly. "I…well, I haven't left since bringing you here."

"What?" Link exclaimed quietly. "You mean you haven't gotten any sleep for the past day and a half?"

"It was no big deal." Lyza replied squeamishly, even though her body said otherwise. "Really."

Link frowned. "Well, I think I am good for the night. I'm going to go back to sleep. Do me a favor and go do the same."

Lyza rose to her feet, but instead of saying goodnight and leaving the room, she took off her shoes and squeezed in next to him in his bed. She wrapped one of her arms around him before resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Uh, this isn't quite what I had in mind." Link said uncomfortably.

"I need to be here for you if you need anything." She replied innocently. "And besides, I'm sure that you could use a friend right now."

Link sighed lightly as he silently admitted to himself that she was right. So he allowed her to stay with him, and before long, she had fallen fast asleep. She clearly had been very exhausted, as she fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Link, despite being unconscious for the better part of the past day, felt extremely tired himself. He was really sore though, and the pain in his foot made sleep hard for him to find. And when sleep finally did come to him, his dreams were clouded with fears of the unknown.

* * *

><p>Link did not wake until late the next morning. It had been at least twelve hours since he first fell asleep the night before, and yet, Link felt just as tired now as he did then. The pain and soreness that he felt all over his body did not seem to have gotten any better, nor did the murky thoughts that plagued his mind clear.<p>

On first glance, Link saw Lyza still resting on his shoulder and he thought that she was still asleep. On closer inspection, however, he saw that her eyes were open and staring off into space. When she noticed that he had woken up, she quickly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Good morning." She said she did so.

"Yeah, you too." Link replied distractedly. He tried to stretch out his limbs as much as possible without drawing any pain, but doing so only brought discomfort.

"Can I bring you something to eat?" Lyza asked him as she got to her feet.

As if on cue, Link's stomach growled loudly at the mention of food, and Link nodded his head fervently. "Yes, please." He replied appreciatively. It had been over a day since he had last had a bite to eat, and even though he had spent most of that time either asleep or unconscious, his body still desperately called for sustenance.

Lyza nodded in acknowledgement and silently bent down to pick up the shoes that she had taken off last night. She carried them with her as she walked barefoot out of the room and out of sight.

Link grunted in discomfort as he got up and sat at the edge of the bed and put his feet on the ground. It was time to test his foot to see just how bad the damage was. Slowly, he rose up to a standing position, balancing on his undamaged left leg and allowing his bad right foot to hover above the ground. With that, he began to lower his right foot until it also touched the ground. But as soon as he tried putting any significant amount of weight on it, his entire leg would buckle up under the pressure and he would have to shift his weight solely onto his left foot again.

Link groaned as he fell back into a sitting position on the bed. This was growing even worse than he had imagined, and he had pretty low expectations to begin with. With each passing second, Ganondorf would be getting closer to achieving his goal of taking over Hyrule. That meant that Link, too, had to make the most of every second that he had at his disposal. He had wasted far too much time here already, and there was no telling how much longer it would be until he could walk normally again. There had to be something he could do at least so that he could travel again. Epona would be a huge help right about now, and could possibly even make traveling in his current state manageable, but she was still locked up back in Hyrule Castle somewhere.

A few minutes later, Lyza returned to the room carrying a tray of food. Link noticed that she had taken the time to get changed as well, and was now wearing a plain shirt and a simple skirt that extended to her knees. She walked in and placed the tray of food next to him on his bed and she reclaimed the chair that she had been sitting in the night before. The tray contained two identical plates of food, which turned out to be a helping of scrambled eggs and a biscuit to go along with it. Lyza took one of the plates and set it in her lap, and Link did the same with the other plate. There were also two forks on the tray, and they each grabbed one and began to eat in silence. As good as the meal was, the food did not sit right with Link. With all of the uneasiness that he was feeling constantly, it seemed as though his stomach had followed suit.

This time, it was Lyza who finished the meal first. She softly placed her dirty dish back onto the tray and gave him a questioning look when she noticed that most of his food was still on his plate. "Link?" She said quietly while she watched him slowly play with his food with his fork. "What's the matter?"

Link put his fork down and placed his unfinished plate back onto the tray. "Lyza, I need you to help me something."

"Of course." Lyza replied, still looking at him with a questioning look. "What is it?"

"Renado." Link said simply. "I need to go see Renado."

"Renado?" Lyza repeated quietly. "What do you need to see him for?"

"He is the whole reason I came to Kakariko in the first place." Link explained. "I need to go see him but because of my…well, you know…" Link looked down to the ground embarrassedly as he continued. "I doubt that I could make the journey alone. Could you help me get over to his sanctuary?"

"Wouldn't it be easier for him to come over here?" Lyza asked. "I could go get him, if you'd like."

"You…you would do that?" Link said quietly.

"Of course." Lyza replied with a smile that clearly said she was surprised that Link thought she wouldn't. "Are you ready to talk to him now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Link replied distractedly. "Thanks again for everything; you've been so much help."

She gave him a quick smile before turning and leaving the room. Link watched her leave and once she was out of sight, he began to slide himself over to the other side of the bed. As expected, Midna was still slumbering on the ground on the other side of the bed, and Link leaned over and scooped her up. He carefully placed her on the bed, making sure to cover her inconspicuously with the bed sheets. Though he was almost sure that the inn was deserted, he did not want to risk anyone coming in and spotting her.

Link waited for about ten minutes until Lyza finally returned with Renado right behind her.

"Hello, Link." Renado said quietly as he entered the room. "It is nice to see you again."

"And you, too, Renado." Link replied with a slight nod.

"I'll be in the lobby. Call if you need anything, Link." Lyza announced from the entrance to the room. Link nodded in acknowledgement, and with that, she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Now alone together, Renado approached Link and sat down at the chair that had been previously occupied by Lyza. "Now, what can I help you with, Link?"

"Look, first of all, no one must know about what you are about to see here." Link said in a hushed tone. "I need your word that you will not tell anyone."

"Of course, Link." Renado said with a slight bow.

"Also, I have become something of a marked man recently." Link added. "So my identity must be made a secret as well. Can you hold it?"

"Yes, I have noticed." Renado said with a slight frown. "Word is out on your latest exploits, Link, and I must say that I do not approve."

"What?" Link said distractedly. The only thing that Link thought that Renado could possibly be referring to was the fact that Zelda had denounced him as the father of her child, so he said quickly, "Look, you can't believe everything that people say."

"Those are words straight from the Princess herself." Renado followed. "And I find it hard to believe that she would slander one of her subjects."

"I told her to say that!" Link responded irritably. "Look, it doesn't matter anyway. Can we stay on topic, please?"

"Alright, what is it that you want?" Renado conceded.

Link reached over and carefully removed the sheets from on top of Midna, revealing her to Renado. "This is a friend of mine." Link explained as Renado began to examine her in wonder. "But she has fallen under a very powerful curse."

"Which curse?" Renado asked quietly. If he was surprised to see this strange, inhuman figure, he certainly didn't show it. He had gotten up out of his seat and began to more closely examine Midna. He was doing all sorts of things that Link wouldn't have even thought to do, and Link still wasn't sure what these actions accomplished. He rubbed the inside of one of her palms, laid an ear down to her exposed abdomen, looked deep into her unseeing eyes, and even opened her mouth and looked down her throat, among other things.

While Renado continued to check her out, Link explained, "Well, at first, I thought it was the _eternal slumber_ curse. But I have been told that her spirit still exists somewhere in her body, so that disproved that explanation. I can only think that this is some kind of completely new curse."

Renado nodded in approval. "Yes, this cannot be the _eternal slumber_ curse; I, too, sense that her spirit is still there. But that's not all."

"What do you mean?" Link asked quietly.

"I detect that there is another spiritual being living in her body with her." Renado explained. "A foreign spirit."

"What does that mean?" Link said with a frown.

"The caster of the spell must have known that you would take her around with you." Renado continued. "It is my belief that the caster of the spell that has befallen this poor imp intentionally placed a fragment of his own soul in the body to contain the soul of the imp, rendering her useless. In doing this, he is also able to sense everything that the imp senses."

"Are you saying that he can hear us…right now?" Link asked quietly.

"If what I say is true, yes. The caster is listening to us as we speak." Renado nodded.

Link ran a hand through his hair. "This is becoming worse than I thought." Slowly, he began to cover Midna with the sheets once more, making sure that he covered her ears thickly, so that Ganondorf could not hear the rest of this conversation. Of course, Renado could be wrong, but he seemed pretty confident about and Link didn't want to take any chances. The thought that a part of Ganondorf was living inside of Midna was deeply unsettling. "Do you have idea on how to cure her?"

"The only way is to expel the foreign soul from her body." Renado replied. "With that fragmented soul out of her body, her soul will regain complete control."

"But how do we do that?" Link asked with a frown.

"The easiest way would be to vanquish the soul that the fragmented soul originated from." Renado replied.

"You mean…kill the caster?" Link asked.

"Yes." Renado said with a nod of confirmation.

Link frowned. If only that was as easy as Renado thought it was. His whole motivation behind reviving Midna was so that she could provide invaluable help in his quest to take down Ganondorf again. Killing Ganondorf did not seem like a plausible option at this point, so Link asked hopefully, "Is there any other way?"

"Perhaps." Renado answer ominously. "I do have methods for expelling spirits from the body, but I fear they may not work in this situation. I've never encountered a situation where two different souls coexisted in the same body before. Usually, when a spirit possesses a body, the soul that had been in the body previously is expelled. So, to cure this, I must simply expel the intruding spirit so that the existing soul can reclaim the body. But this is different. If I try the same method here, I doubt that I will be able to distinguish between the two, and both souls will be banished from the body."

"Couldn't her soul reclaim the empty body after both souls are expelled?" Link asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Renado responded dubiously. "I am not sure. Under normal circumstances, she probably could. But her soul has suffered much and it has become weak. I doubt it could survive very long outside of her body. And even that aside, I think that the fragmented soul has latched on to the imp's soul. Simply dispelling them from the body will not detach the two souls from each other."

Link nodded and sat in silence for a minute or two. "I know that this is a lot to ask, Renado, but could I get you to look into this situation further? I have met with a few people but none of them seemed as experienced as you are. You may be my last hope for saving her."

Renado nodded. "If you leave the imp with me, I'll see what I can do."

Link nodded, but when Renado stood up to grab Midna, he said, "Wait, Renado, one last thing."

"What is it?" Renado asked.

"A couple of days ago, I noticed something strange." Link said. "When I touch her forehead with the palm of my hand, I saw something…some kind of vision, I think, and I heard her voice. And later, when I touched her again, I had another vision, and this time, she gave me some sort of message. Do you have any explanation for this?"

Renado thought for a moment before he answered. "That's strange, but not out of the ordinary. Spirits often communicate through physical contact, so that part doesn't seem out of the ordinary. What does seem strange is the fact that she had managed to do this despite being trapped by the foreign spirit. I very much doubt that the captor's soul would stand idly by while such a connection was made. These connections were short, yes?"

"Yeah, no longer than a couple of seconds both times." Link replied.

"Yeah, I thought so." Renado said. "However it was that she managed to communicate with you, she probably could only maintain the connection for a couple of seconds before it was broken by the other soul. And doing this must have been excruciatingly painful for her. Whatever she was trying to tell you, it must be important to her."

Link nodded silently; the explanation seemed to make sense. Renado then began to unravel Midna out of the sheets once more. He carefully picked her up and hid her from view in his body-length robes, in much the same fashion that Link had been accustomed to doing. With that, he began to walk towards the door. Link began to get to his feet as well, with the intention of seeing Renado out of the room. But, in the midst of his informative conversation, he had completely forgotten about his injured foot. As soon as he put some weight on his foot, Link cried out in pain. His leg buckled again, and he fell back down to his bed.

Renado had stopped in his tracks and spun around quickly to see what was wrong with Link. "That is some gruesome-looking injury." He said quietly.

Link began cursing under his breath as he waited for the pain to subside. "Yeah." He said distractedly when he got a chance.

"But Link, I would have thought that you, more so than anybody else, would believe in the curative powers of the goddesses." Renado said.

"Huh?" Link asked, partly out of confusion and partly out of distraction.

"The goddesses are healers." Renado answered. "They are normally selective with who and what they decide to heal, thinking it best that mankind learn to resolve their own conflicts. But you are different. They entrusted you with the Master Sword. They have given you their blessings so that you may someday become the Hero of Hyrule. If you offer up your wishes to them, I am sure that they will respond."

"But how do I do that?" Link asked apprehensively.

"You are aware of the goddesses' springs." Renado replied. "They are spiritual places. Offer up your prayers there and, if the goddesses deem you worthy and your wish honorable, they will answer."

With that, Renado turned to leave, and he soon vanished out of the room. Link watched him go, his mind full of thought. It was true; he had witnessed the healing powers of the goddesses himself. But would they help him out now?

It was worth a shot. Slowly, Link struggled back up to his feet. He could not put any weight at all on his bum foot, so he, more or less, hopped on his left foot as he crossed the room. He used anything that he could get his hands on for support as he passed; things like the table, a chair and portions of the walls all acted as replacement legs for him. When he got to the door, he quickly opened it and hobbled out. Using the wall as support, Link managed to proceed down the hallway to the upper floor of the lobby. From there, he began to descend down the stairs, using the guardrails to lean on as he did so.

"Link?" Lyza exclaimed when she noticed Link hobbling down the stairs. She had been standing behind the counter again, waiting to admit new guests to the inn. But when she noticed Link hobbling down the stairs, she instantly rushed over to him. But by the time she had reached him, he had already descended down the last step. "What are you doing? You're going to reinjured yourself."

Link hardly even acknowledged her. He was too blinded by the pain in his foot and the ambition in his heart. "I'll just be gone a second." Link grunted as he began to stumble forward, making for the inn's exit.

Lyza grimaced as she watched him stagger about in obvious pain. "Well, here, at least let me help you." She said pityingly. She rushed over to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, trying to help add stability and compensate for his weakened leg. Link responded gratefully by wrapping his arm around her shoulder and allowing a fraction of his weight to rest on her shoulders. Lyza had a light frame so Link was careful not to overburden her, but even so, her support made walking much more manageable.

At the door out of the inn, they had to turn and walk sideways, which turned out to be no easy task. But, with a bit of effort, they did make it through into the streets of Kakariko. Link was still barefoot, a fact he soon began to regret. The afternoon sun had been absorbed by the hard, gravel roads, so it felt like he was stepping on hot knives.

"Where are we going?" Lyza asked quietly.

"The spring." Link replied.

"The spring?" Lyza repeated questioningly.

But Link did not reply, and they began to walk from the base of the inn towards the spring of Eldin. The journey took only a moment or two, and not a minute too soon either, for the walk had become quite painful for him. Once they had reached the edge of the spring, Link let go of Lyza and allowed all of his weight to rest on his left foot. And when Lyza had withdrawn her arm as well, he allowed himself fall backwards to the ground with a _thud_. Now sitting on the ground, Link inched himself closer to water until his was sitting on the edge of the spring, and then he dipped both of his feet into the cool water. Lyza remained silent and was watching him closely, but she didn't really seem to understand what he was trying to do.

The water of the spring felt great on his exposed skin, and it seemed to relax his pain away. But he wasn't sure whether the water was actually healing the wound or if it was just relieving the pain. The water around his injured foot slowly became a dull red as the dried blood from his wound dissolved into the spring. Likewise, the water also caused the bandages to weaken, and they were slowly breaking apart. Unable to wait any longer, Link impatiently brushed at the remained bits of cloth, and they easily broke apart at his touch.

What he saw made him gasp. Not only had the wound completely healed up, but there was no evidence that it had ever even existed at all; no blood, no scar. It was as if he had never been injured. He slowly raised his foot out of the water and watched as the water ran past the area where he had been stabbed, thinking that it had to be too good to be true; that it was some kind of trick.

"It's…it's a miracle." He heard Lyza say from a couple of paces behind him.

Link reached out and began to run his fingers over the area on his foot where, until just recently, there was a large gash. He was still convinced that there was something wrong. He had seen the goddesses work their healing magic at times before, but never with an injury to the extent of this one, so he couldn't help but feel skeptical. But even when he pushed down hard on the center of his foot, he felt no pain or discomfort at all. And when he brought his foot down and pushed hard against the ground with it, he still didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. He had regained complete mobility and functionality once again, a result that he did not even deem imaginable in such a small amount of time.

Link began to laugh lightly as he stared out across the spring in wonder. At some point while he was doing so, Lyza had sat down next to him on the ground. She removed her shoes and let her feet float in the water innocently next to Link's. "So, it's true, then." She murmured. "This place really is sacred."

Link didn't reply. Instead, he silently thanked the goddesses in his thoughts. He wasn't sure if they could hear him, but he did know that he would show them that he was worthy of the second chance they had given him.

A few minutes passed before Lyza asked, "So, what will you be doing now?"

Link bit his lip for a moment. This joyous occurrence had made him forget about the reality that still lied before him. "Well, I guess I have to continue to do what I set off to do." Link replied cryptically after a second of thought. "Now that I am not bedridden any longer, I really cannot stay any longer than I must."

"I was afraid that you would say that." Lyza said quietly.

Link turned his head see that she was looking at him with a very ambiguous expression on her face. It was difficult to read, and he soon gave up trying to. "I have to do this." He replied simply.

"Yeah, I know. I get it." She said shortly, sounding a tad envious. "But will you come back?"

"I'm not sure." Link said uneasily. "I don't know what lies in store for me. Live for today and don't worry about tomorrow, right?"

She smiled lightly at the reference to what she had said just a couple days prior. "That's right." She said quietly. "But that was much easier for me to say before I knew what you are up against. Honestly, I don't know how you do it."

"I think taking it one day at a time is the only way I can do it." Link replied.

She nodded slightly but held him tongue for a moment longer before saying, "Well, seeing as I might not see you again-"

"Come on, Lyza, don't talk like that." Link interrupted, although even he knew that there could be some truth to her words.

"I want to give you something." Lyza continued on as if Link had not interrupted her.

"You've done so much for me already." Link replied with a frown. "You don't need to give me anything."

Again, Lyza acted as if she had not heard him. She reached to the back of her neck with both of her hands and fiddled with the clasp of her necklace. It was a simple, silver-colored necklace that was rather plain, but charming nonetheless. However, it was only when she began to remove it that he noticed that it was not completely bare. Most of the necklace had been hidden underneath her shirt so he had not noticed it before, but what appeared to be a ring was hanging from the necklace. She carefully removed the ring from the necklace and held it in front of him with her outstretched hand.

"Here." She said quietly. "Take it."

"I, uh, I can't…" Link stammered.

"Take it." She repeated, slightly more vehemently. She reached out and nearly had to force it into his hands before he reluctantly accepted it.

"It was my father's." She explained as she began to reclasp the necklace around her neck. "He carried it as his charm; he always thought that there was something lucky about it. And I think so, too. Maybe it was just coincidence, but when my home village was raided, my father did not have time to find it and put it on…and he didn't make it out."

Link remained silent for a couple of moments. "If it means so much to you, I can't accept this." He finally said uncertainly.

"Please, take it." She replied with the shake of her head. "Lucky or not, that ring only brings me unhappy memories. I've kept it close only because I've never had a good reason to part with it before."

Link nodded and began to examine the ring. It was a plain silver band with no engravings of any kind. It was smooth to the touch and it almost felt weak, as if it might break if he pushed on it too hard. "Alright." Link said with a nod after a moment or so. "Well, thank you, Lyza." He began to try it on, to see if it would fit any of his fingers. To his surprise, it fit snuggly on his middle finger.

"Hopefully, it will bring you the same luck it brought my father." She said quietly.

Link grimaced inwardly, for he knew that he would need all the luck that he could get.


	21. Returns, Part Two

**Chapter 21 – Returns, Part Two**

It was with an ounce of hesitation that Link forced himself awake. Part of him wanted to stay in bed for several more hours because he had almost forgotten what it felt like to get a good night's sleep; It had to have been at least a week since he last slept completely through the night without any complications. Before last night, that is.

He had plenty of things to feel optimistic about before he went to bed last night, which directly led to him feeling at ease when he closed his eyes for the night. First and foremost, the potentially life-changing foot injury he had sustained vanished completely just last night, a fact he was very grateful for. Then, for probably the first time since they had been reunited, he was beginning to feel optimistic about Midna's well-being. Renado seemed to know what he was talking about, so it seemed likely that he could save her from her current predicament. And all of this led to him sleeping like a baby throughout the entire night.

But Link soon did force himself to get up. As much as he wanted to make this moment last, the fact of the matter remained that he still had far more pressing issues to take care of. But even with that in mind, he still did not really know how best to tackle those issues.

With a yawn, Link began to get up to his feet off the bed. It was a simple yet memorable feeling; never again would he undervalue the significance of being able to walk. He quickly took a look out the window and noticed that it was still early in the morning. The break of dawn could not have occurred more than an hour or so ago.

He stretched out his limbs a bit before walking over and sitting down at the nearby table. He picked up his boots, which he had laid on the ground next to the table, and put them on. He made sure to lace them up tightly before he rose back to his feet. He grabbed his sword and shield and securely strapped them to his back. He had been caught without them once now, but it would not happen again. He next picked up his black robe and threw it into his small bag of possessions, which he then slung around onto his back to carry.

He took one final glance at the room before he turned to leave. He had kind of grown attached to the place over the past three days, but that was probably only because it had a bed. After all those days sleeping out in the wilderness, his back certainly welcomed the pleasant change. But a moment later, Link turned around and exited through the door.

As he descended the stairs into the lobby, he noticed that Lyza was already up and was stationed at her post behind the counter. "You're up early." She said lightly as he approached.

"I could say the same to you." Link replied before coming to a stop in front of the counter. "So, how much do I owe you, anyway?"

"Oh." She said vaguely. "Well, the landlord told me that you don't owe the inn anything, given what happened and all."

Link nodded faintly. It was a nice gesture, but he almost felt guilty knowing that he was freeloading in an inn that was struggling financially. He was about to insist that he pay, but Lyza beat him to the punch by changing the subject. "So, you're going to be leaving now?" She asked him quietly.

Link nodded. In truth, he had no idea where to go, but he knew that he had to leave. However, he still could not travel too far away, as Renado was still in the possession of Midna. He wanted to stay nearby for her sake, in case any complications arose. Perhaps he could go back to Hyrule Castle, if for no other reason than to rescue Epona.

After a moment or two, he replied simply, "Yes."

"Don't you at least want some breakfast before you go?" Lyza asked, perhaps a bit hopefully.

His insides burned at the very mention of food. Apart from his very light breakfast the day before, he had not eaten since nearly two and a half days ago. Without thinking, he quickly nodded in confirmation.

Lyza smiled lightly and said, "Sit down, I'll go get you something."

With that, Lyza turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. Link began walking over toward the dining tables and took a seat at the nearest one. A moment or two passed before Lyza reappeared from out of the kitchen. She walked over and sat down across from him at the table but her hands were empty; evidently, the owner of the inn was the one doing the cooking again.

A couple of awkward moments of silence passed before she said quietly, "I know it sounds really selfish, but part of me wishes that you hadn't been healed, just so you could stay here longer."

Link looked at her, his mind full of thought. He wasn't sure if he should have felt humored or insulted. "I tried to tell you that this day would come." He said carefully after a minute or so. "Back when I first arrived."

"I know." She replied softly. "I still don't regret a thing."

Link smiled lightly, wishing that he could say the same. He had to admire her self-confidence. "Well, I'll probably be coming back every once in a while. My business with Renado has not yet come to an end."

"I knew that you would find some reason to come back." She replied coyly.

Link frowned. "A very serious one, at that." He muttered.

"So you say." She said lightheartedly.

Link rolled his eyes a bit but he smiled back at her nonetheless. A few minutes later, the owner of the inn emerged from the kitchen carrying two plates of hot food. Link could see the steam steadily rising from the food even at a distance, and he almost began to drool just thinking about it. But even as he began to imagine eating the delicious meal, a sharp, all-too-familiar voice resounded through his ears.

"Link." The voice boomed. It seemed to be coming out from somewhere in the streets, but it was loud enough that Link could hear it clearly even when separated by a solid wall. The voice was so cold that he began to get the chills just listening to it and his hair just seemed to stand on edge. "Come face me, Hero of Twilight. It is time we end this."

Everything just seemed to have stopped within the inn. The owner, who had been walking over to the table with two plates in his hands, had stopped in his tracks. He was frozen by fear and was silently staring at the exit to the inn, sacred of what may lie beyond it. Lyza, too, had frozen in her seat, as if trying, and failing, to convince herself that it was all just in her imagination.

Link, however, knew that this was no dream. "Damn it, not now…" He muttered to no one to particular. He quickly reached to his back to make sure he was fully armed this time around before he jumped from his seat and made his way towards the door.

"Wait, Link!" He heard Lyza say from somewhere behind him, but Link did not stop. He swung the door open and walked out into the streets. And there, standing in the middle of Kakariko, he saw exactly who he had been expecting to see.

"Well, now, Link." Ganondorf said as Link approached cautiously. "Don't act so surprised. I told you to come find me, and you did not even try. So, I took the liberty of coming to you."

"And you have already overstayed your welcome, Ganondorf." Link said back, trying to display an air of confidence that he was not currently feeling.

"Don't worry; I shall make my stay short." Ganondorf replied menacingly.

Link quickly made for the sword and shield at his back, and Ganondorf grabbed his own two-handed sword. Link stared at his adversary, finding himself thinking more about why Ganondorf was even here as opposed to the actual fight that lie before him. When he made his return to Hyrule, he did not attack because he claimed that he was still not fully healed. But that was only about a week ago. Could he have finished recovering in that short amount of time?

"I know what you are after." Ganondorf proclaimed, stirring Link from his thoughts. "I can give you what you seek. If you listen to my guidance and follow my direction, you will be stronger than you could have ever imagined."

"I will never listen to you!" Link roared.

"Ignorant child." Ganondorf said calmly. "That is the end that you desire, is it not? To be stronger? To control that precious source of power that the goddesses have foolishly passed on to you? It is the destination that counts, Link, not the direction. Make life easy on yourself and allow me to pass on my wisdom onto you."

Link didn't even bother to give the Dark Lord an answer. Instead, he gripped the Master Sword tight and charged at the hulk of a man who stood in front of him. With a loud roar, Link aimed a powerful vertical slash at him, but Ganondorf casually deflected the attack with his own blade as if it were nothing. Link allowed the momentum of his deflected attack to carry on, turning it into a horizontal slash that he aimed back at Ganondorf. However, the Dark Lord quickly jumped backwards to avoid the attack altogether. And once Link's attack passed without any contact, Ganondorf jumped forward to take advantage while Link was exposed. He landed a powerful kick to Link's chest, causing him to fly backwards a few feet and land painfully on his back.

Link grunted as he tried to regain his breath, having had most of it knocked out of him due to the impact with the ground. "I can feel your anger." Ganondorf said calmly, choosing not to jump on Link while he was down. "Good. Channel that anger. Allow it to consume you. That is the key to drawing on the power of the goddesses."

Link had no clue what Ganondorf was talking about, but he slowly forced himself to his feet. He certainly was feeling fury right now, but that got him no closer to figuring out how to use Triforce. And, even that matter aside, he still had no clue why Ganondorf was trying to help him.

"What are you trying to do?" Link asked with a frown.

"I am simply trying to help you realize your goal." Ganondorf replied. "And, in return, you may come to understand mine."

"I understand enough to know that it is no good." Link replied grimly.

"Then it is obvious that you do not understand enough." Ganondorf countered. "If you continue to train under me, you will see. An apprentice always takes after his Master, after all."

"I am nobody's apprentice." Link said sharply. "And you sure as hell aren't my master!"

"And yet, you continue to take my advice." Ganondorf said with a sly smile. "The rage continues to build inside of you."

Link put both hands on the Master Sword's hilt and began to charge again at the Dark Lord. About five feet away from where he stood, Link jumped off the ground and aimed a devastating jump attack his way. But Ganondorf easily stepped to the side and, while Link was down on one knee, slapped him across the head with the back of his hand.

Link went sprawling to the ground again but Ganondorf still remained rooted to the spot. "There is a subtle difference between anger and overconfidence." He said lightly as he watched Link rise to his feet again. "I suggest you learn it."

Link bit his lip in his anger. He grabbed his sword in both of his hands again and threw another vertical slash, but Ganondorf casually stepped out of the way. Once out of danger, he swept Link's feet out from under him, and Link went face-first into the dirt again.

Link spit out the loose dirt that had entered his mouth from the fall before getting back up to his feet. "You are persistent, aren't you?" Ganondorf said wryly. "You will need more than that to defeat me, however."

Link panted lightly as he stared at the Prince of Darkness. He was almost out of breath and his hands were slightly cut up after all the falls he had taken. He was beginning to sweat while Ganondorf still seemed completely dry. His arms were tiring even though he had yet to land a single blow. But even despite all of this, he felt confident in his abilities and knew that he still had a lot more in him.

"Come on, Hero." Ganondorf commanded. "Focus your anger. It must become part of everything that you are. Remember everything that I have put you through. Think of your imp, of your destroyed home village and all of its inhabitants. Now, focus that all on me. Let me feel your wrath!"

Link felt himself growing angrier by the second until he finally reached the breaking point. Link let out a roar of rage, and from there, he began to feel a change. Everything he saw around him became sharper and more refined, as if time itself was beginning to slow down. The Triforce symbol on the back of his hand was glowing brilliantly, but Link didn't need to know that fact in order to realize the source of this change.

"Yes!" Ganondorf exclaimed. "Now unleash it. Unleash your anger!"

But Link did not heed Ganondorf's command, nor did he even hear it. Link wasn't sure how, but he knew that he was in a state of unbelievable power, and he tried to remain as still as possible. As this was the first time he had ever experienced anything like this, he felt sure that he would not be able to control the energy that now flowed through his veins. One movement at all could be all it took to create an earthquake that would destroy the village.

Several pebbles down near Link's feet were hovering slightly above the ground, no doubt caused by his excess of power. His entire body was trembling, as if telling him to release this power that was granted to him. Indeed, part of him even thought that would be a good idea. In his current state, the prospect of taking down Ganondorf almost seemed easy.

"Link, no!" Link heard someone shout from behind him. "Control yourself, this is not the way!"

Link desperately wanted to know who had said that, but he dared not move a single muscle for fear of what might happen. He did, however, decide to follow the advice that he was given. He quickly closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down, an action which turned out to be harder than he had expected. His mind was buzzing with excitement and anger; a fact not aided by the fact that Ganondorf was still standing nearby.

"You…" Link heard Ganondorf say.

"Leave this place, Dark Lord." The mystery voice shouted back. "You cannot win against both of us."

"When my power returns to me, I shall make short work of both of you." Ganondorf said in reply. "Until then, Hero, enjoy your victory. And practice."

Ganondorf did not make another sound after that. Link, who had still been attempting to control his emotions, let curiosity get the best of him. He peeked open his eyes to see that Ganondorf was no longer standing in the streets of Kakariko. He must have teleported off to somewhere else. With that knowledge gained, Link felt himself rapidly growing dizzy. A moment later, he passed out, falling backwards to the ground with a loud _thud_.

* * *

><p>"Ugh.."<p>

Link grunted lightly as he awoke from his loss of consciousness. He felt very tired, but otherwise, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Looking around, he noticed that he was back in his familiar bed in the inn.

"Are you alright?" He heard someone say.

Link looked up and saw Lyza standing at the side of the bed and looking apprehensively down at him. He rubbed his head lightly as he tried to remember what had happened to lead him into this situation. He saw the midday sun glaring down through the window and assumed that he could not have been out more than an hour or so.

Link winced slightly as he rose to a sitting position on the side of the bed. "Was…was it you?"

"What?" Lyza asked quietly.

But Link quickly shook off the thought. It could not have been Lyza. Whoever it was that he had heard speaking to Ganondorf, it had to be someone that the Dark Lord truly respected as a worthy adversary. Otherwise, he would not have been so quick to leave.

Link closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head as he tried to think, but no thoughts were coming to him. After a moment or two, he gave up trying and said to Lyza, "Could you get me a drink of water?"

She gave him a worrisome look before turning around and quickly heading out of the room. Link groaned and rolled into a sitting position on the side of the bed. His entire body ached in a way which he had never experienced before; undoubtedly caused by his meddling with the powers of the Triforce. He felt completely drained, as if the strength had been sucked right out of him.

"We need to talk, Link." Link heard someone say. "Lose the girl."

Link's eyes snapped open at this unexpected voice and he cautiously scanned the room for the source. But after a moment of carefully surveying every corner of the room, it was clear that there was no other visible being in the room with him. He even tried calling out, saying "Hello?" to no one in particular, in a failed attempt to find the bearer of this mysterious voice. But it was very clear that he was alone with his own shadow in the room.

A minute or two later, Lyza returned with the glass of water. She handed it to him and asked, "Are you alright?"

Link nodded distractedly as he drank the entirety of the glass' contents in a couple of gulps. The water immediately did wonders to his aches, and it took only a couple of minutes before he felt as good as new. But as soon as he finished his drink, the message that the unknown voice had given him began to ring through his head, and he knew what he had to do. "Thanks for everything, Lyza." Link said shortly before he stood up and began to walk out the door.

"What, you're just going to leave?" She asked, hurriedly matching him stride-for-stride.

"I have to." Link replied as he started descending down the stairs.

"But-" Lyza started to say.

At the bottom of the staircase, Link came to an abrupt halt and turned around, and Lyza nearly ran into his back as she had been closely following him. "Think about it, Lyza. I've only been here a couple of days and I've started two battles. I can't stay here any longer. I have to put an end to this."

Lyza stood speechless at the foot of the stairs so Link took this opportunity to take his leave. At the front door, her turned back briefly and said, "Take care, Lyza."

Link took the final step out into the streets of Kakariko and let the inn's front door close behind him before she even got a chance to reply. He supposed that she deserved a more gracious good-bye, as she had spent much of the past couple of days treating his injuries, but Link's mind was elsewhere. He was growing more curious by the second in his anticipation to discover what this unknown stranger wanted to discuss with him. He walked towards the sacred spring, but no one popped out to meet him there. He was quite alone by this point, but perhaps he needed to get out of sight of the nearby buildings. But even as he treaded down the path to Hyrule Field, shielded by the cover of the mountains, he was not greeted by anyone.

It wasn't until he passed into Hyrule Fields and began crossing the bridge over Kakariko gorge that he was finally greeted by a very familiar stranger.

"Just like old times, eh, Wolf-boy?" Midna proclaimed giddily as she revealed herself from Link's shadow.

Link stopped in his tracks and spun around to meet his healed imp friend. This revelation, however, hardly came as much of a surprise to Link. He figured that it had to be her ever since he heard her voice while fighting Ganondorf; she was probably the only being, other than himself, in all of Hyrule that could get Ganondorf to turn his tail like that. Nonetheless, it still brought great joy to him to see her wry grin and her playful eyes staring up at him.

"Good to see that you are alright, Midna." Link replied lightly.

"Don't get soft on me now, Hero, we have much to do." Midna replied playfully.

"Fair enough." Link said. "Maybe now you can tell me exactly what you were trying to show me with that crazy vision you gave me?" He began to think back to a few days ago, when Midna had given him some kind of premonition. Just thinking about that image she had given him, that huge, hairy two-legged creature that vaguely looked like a bear on its hind legs, gave him the chills.

"Not here, Hero." Midna replied. "I get the feeling that your friend knows more than he is letting on. In this matter, he may be more informed than I."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Link asked. "Are you talking about Aaron?"

"Yes." Midna said simply.

"But, wait, you-" Link began to say.

"Not now, Link." Midna urged. "You must return to the castle. I need to talk to Zelda, and you need to have a chat with your friend."

"Wait, but…" Link stammered, now becoming thoroughly confused. "I-"

"I will answer everything I can once you make it back to the castle." Midna said, growing impatient. "Go now, Link."

With that, Midna jumped back into Link's shadow, leaving Link alone to his muddled thoughts.


End file.
